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LOUISIANA 



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TARR AND McMURRY GEOGRAPHIES 



SUPPLEMENTARY VOLUME 



LOUISIANA 



BY 

W. E. TAYLOR, Ph.D. 

PRESIDENT OF LOUISIANA INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE 



E. L. STEPHENS, Ph.D. 

PRESIDENT OF SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA 
INDUf^TRIAL INSTITUTE 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 
1905 

All rights resented 



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LlBflAflY of OONfiRESS 
iwo Oopies d&ctHveu 

AUG 21 1905 
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COPY 8. 

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COPYEIGHT, 1905, 

By the MAOMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published August, 1905. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Location and Relative Position 1 

Surface ............ 2 

Rivers ............ 6 

Lakes ............ 9 

Soil and Physical Features . . . . . . .11 

Climatic Conditions ......... 15 

Influences of Physical Features on Climate .... 18 

Minerals 19 

Salt 19 

Sulphur 21 

Oil 2:3 

Agriculture 25 

Cotton ........... 27 

Sugar 31 

Rice ....... o .... 30 

The Oyster Industry ,„,.,.... 41 

Manufacturing .......... 44 

Transportation Routes ...,,.... 48 

Cities and Towns .54 

Government .......... (57 

History ............ 70 

Education . . ......... 72 

Appendix A. Population of Incorporated Cities, Towns, and Vil- 
lages in Louisiana, and the Parishes in which they are situated 

respectively, 1900 77 

Appendix B. Parishes of Louisiana, including Areas, Date of Incor- 
poration, Population in 1900, Taxable Pro[)erty, Congressional 

District, and Seat of Justice 80 

V 



LOUISIANA 



Location and Relative Position 

The state of Louisiana lies between 29° and 33" north 
latitude, and 89° and 94° 4^ west longitude, measured from 
the prime meridian of Greenwich, England. A line drawn 
along the western border of the state would be 225 miles 
long. A straight line drawn across the state on its south<- 
ern border would be about 325 miles long, wdiile the width 
on the northern border from the Mississippi river to the 
Texas line is only 160 miles. The longest straight line 
that could be drawn in Louisiana would lie between the 
mouth of the Mississippi river and the northwestern 
corner of the state. Describe the general shape of the 
state. 

The United States is divided into three great districts ; 
namely, the Atlantic slope which is east of the Appala- 
chian Mountains; the Pacific slope lying west of the 
Rocky Mountain divide ; and the great basin of the Mis- 
sissippi. This immense basin contains two-thirds of the 
area of the United States. Likewise, from the standpoint 
of foreign trade, there are three centres ; namely. New 
York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Thus nature has 
made tributary to Louisiana the most fertile valley in the 
world united by a great river and its tributaries. What 
are they ? 

B 1 



LOUISIANA 



PRACTICAL STUDIES 



1. With a scale compare Louisiana with other states, noting shape, 
length, width, and area. 

2. Using old maps (raih'oad maps may be used), cut out the different 
states and compare by placing one over the other. 

3. With tissue paper trace outlines of the various states, leaving 
off all names. How may each state be distinguished? In the same 
way trace river systems. Can you recognize each state by its system? 
If all the names were left off the Louisiana map, how could you rec- 
ognize the state ? 

4. Find out from some history why the " Florida Parishes " were 
so named. 

5. On the map of the Southern States (Fig. 140), with the aid 
of a compass, draw concentric circles from New Orleans as a centre, 
using the scale shown so that the circles shall be one hundred miles 
apart. What states are included in each circle? what great cities? 
rivers V coal regions ? iron regions ? truck regions ? Compare these with 
similar diagrams made with New York and San Francisco as centres. 
Which district has been most favored by geographic conditions ? 

6. If your school has a wall map of the world, make crayon lines 
on it connecting each of the following places, New York, San Fran- 
cisco, and New Orleans, by waterways with England, China, Hawaii, 
Australia, Philippine Islands, Brazil, Chili. Which of these three 
cities is most favorably located for commerce with these countries? 
How will these conditions be changed by the opening of the Panama 
Canal? 

7. Take a position facing the north and show^ the actual direction 
in a straight line of the following places: New York; San Fran- 
cisco ; Washington ; Havana ; Mexico City ; Rio Janeiro ; Manila ; 
Guam ; Samoa ; Hayti ; Chicago ; Pekin ; Tokio. 

Surface 

Surface. — Louisiana has 48,720 square miles of terri- 
tory. There are 640 acres in a square mile ; how many 
acres are there in Louisiana ? 

The elevated or hilly portions of the state are divided 
into three distinct regions (see relief map, Fig. 2). The 



SURFACE 3 

first lies on the western border of the state and consists 
of an elongated range of hills running almost parallel 
with the Sabine river. This range constitutes the divide 
between the Sabine and the Red and Calcasieu rivers. 
Its greatest height is near Keatchie (elevation 327 feet), 
gradually becoming less as the Gulf is approached. The 
second region of hills lies between the Ouachita and Red 
rivers. Beginning near the middle of the northern boun- 
dary line of the state at an elevation of about 150 feet, 
its main divide increases in height till the site of old 
Athens in Claiborne parish is reached. This point is 484 
feet above sea-level, and is the greatest known elevation in 
the state. From Arcadia (362 feet) a gradual decline ex- 
tends eastward to the Ouachita and then southAvard into 
Catahoula parish. The third, or upland, region, of the 
" Florida parishes," consists of a series of parallel ridges 
declining southward from the State Line (280 feet) in 
the parishes of East and West Feliciana and East Baton 
Rouge. 

The coastal regions of the state extend the full length 
of the southern border about 325 miles in a straight line, 
but approximately 2000 miles when following the irregu- 
larities of the coast. This region comprises the salt 
marshes of the state and is most recent in its formation. 

The long-leaf-pine flats occupy two districts; namely, 
a triangular region mostly between the Calcasieu river 
and the Teche bayou, and a belt just north of Lakes 
Maurepas and Fontchartrain. 

The river section may also be classified into three prin- 
cipal regions, each having a partially different origin. 
The Red River Valley proper extends from the northwest 
corner of the state to Alexandria. The second region 



4 LOUISIANA 

lies between the Ouachita and Mississippi rivers, and is 
divided by the Bayou Macon ridge. The Mississippi river 
region, the third region of the state, south of the Red river, 
probably owes its origin to the combined action of these 
rivers and Gulf currents. Usually streams flow against 
their west banks. Hence it seems probable that in the geo- 
logical history of this section there was a time when the 
Mississippi occupied a channel on the extreme west side of 
its present valley, not far from the site of the present city 
of Alexandria, near which the Red river then entered the 
Mississippi. The sediment deposited by the inflowing 
current of the Red river gradually forced the great Mis- 
sissippi over to the east bank of its present valley, the 
making of new-made lands extending southeast just as 
now. Bayous Teche, Atchafalaya, Lafourche, Bienville, 
and others are probably remnants of river channels. 
Hence, from the Red river south the Mississippi plain is 
of delta origin. 

PRACTICAL STUDIES 

1. Taking some very small streamlet in or near your school 
grounds, answer from personal observation the following questions : 
What evidences do you find of the work of water? Do you find 
deposits made by recent currents ? Can you distinguish the deposits 
made by the last freshets from those made by earlier ones? 

2. What is meant by sea-level? gulf level? How are elevations 
determined ? 

3. Just after a rainfall go out into the school grounds and look 
for the smallest streamlet you can find and draw a picture of it in 
connection with others near it. Do you find any horseshoe-shaped 
bends? any cut-offs? any ridges between the streamlets? Are 
there islands? deltas? 

4. Make on a definite scale cross-sections of the state, using the 
following tables of elevations. 

To show horizontal distances, take your ruler and find and use the 
scale employed on the map of Louisiana (Fig. 1). For elevations let 



SURFACE 5 

one-fourth of an inch represent one hundred feet. Next draw a hori- 
zontal line to represent sea-level. Then at proper distances draw 
vertical straight lines corresponding to the elevation given for each 
locality. Connect the tops of the vertical lines by lines drawn to cor- 
respond to the curvatures as they appear on the relief map. 

{a) Across North Louisiana from Vicksburg to Shreveport the ele- 
vations are : Delta (on river bank), 95; Tallulah, 91 ; Delhi, 97 ; Ray- 
ville, 86; Crew Lake, 76; Monroe, 88; Calhoun, 170; Huston, 310; 
Arcadia, 362; Gibsland, 246; Sibley, 199; Houghton, 210; Bodcau, 




Fig. 3. 
Cross-section of Louisiana. 



205; Bossier City, 180; Shreveport, 237; Keatchie, 327. Figure 3 
shows this cross-section, but each pupil should make one for him- 
self. 

(b) Along the Ouachita the elevations are: State Line, 110; Mer 
Rouge, 94; Collinston, 83; Monroe, 77; Columbia, 135; 011a, 155; 
Little River, 89 ; Pollock, 96 ; Red River Bridge, 95 ; Alexandria, 
79. 

(c) From Shreveport to New Orleans a section might be made as 
follows: Shreveport Junction, 240; INIansfield, 321; Pelican, 265; 
Marthaville, 260; Robeline, 150; Cypress, 105; Boyce, 95; Alexan- 
dria, 82; Cheneyville, 67; Baton Rouge Junction, 19; Plaquemine, 
25; Donaldsonville, 30 ; Gretna, 6. 

(d) In the Florida parishes we may make several sections. Along 
the Illinois Central the elevations would be : State Line, 257; Kent- 
wood, 202; Tangipahoa, 175; Areola, 136; Amite, 112; Indepen- 
dence, 89; Hammond, 39; Alligator, 0; Manchac, 10; New Orleans, 4. 

(e) Again, beginning with the State Line on the Yazoo and Missis- 
sippi Valley Railway, the elevations are : State Line, 271 ; Wilson, 253 ; 
Gayden, 205; Ethel, 167; Slaughter, 125; Zachary, 101; Baker, 82; 
Snowden, 62; Baton Rouge, 35 ; St. Gabriel, 22; AVhitehall, 22 ; Con- 
vent, 20 ; La Place, 20 ; Kenner, 9 ; New Orleans, 6. 



6 LOUISIANA 

Rivers 

The rivers of Louisiana may be classified into three 
groups ; namely, those of the bayou type, of the winding 
or sluggish type, and of tlie upland river type. 

The Bayou Type. — Rivers of this class are numerous 
in the valleys of the Mississippi and Red rivers and the 



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Fig. 4. 

Scene on Bayou Vermilion. The raft of debris shows how sluggish the 
stream is. 

coastal region. The rivers of the latter region are 
usually narrow and relatively deep, and sometimes 
swift. Their swift currents are probably due to the 
fact that they are forced by the large streams that feed 
them. Typical rivers of this class are Bayou Lafourche, 
Atcliafalaya river, Calcasieu river, the Teche, and Bayou 
Vermilion. 



RIVERS 



The Winding or Sluggish Type. — The currents of the 
larger rivers are relatively sluggish, and hence their 




Fig. 5. 

Grand Ecnre on the Red river. This is the highest bhiff along the Red 
river. It is about three miles from Natchitoches. 

channels are winding and their flood plains wide. To 
this class belong the Mississippi, in Louisiana, and the 



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Fig. 6. 

Red river at Shreveport, showing one of the steel bridges that cross 
it there. 



main channel of the Red river. These streams are ac- 
companied by horse'shoe lakes and old river channels and 
bayous. 



8 LOUISIANA 

The Upland River Type. — The rivers found in the hill 
parishes are of this type. Relativel}^, their currents are 
rapid and channels less winding. 

No state has more alluvial lands or so many miles of 
navigable waters as Louisiana. The widest part of the 
Mississippi flood 2)laiu, as well as the delta of this river, 
lies within the borders of the state. Over 13,000 square 
miles of alluvial lands and marshlands have been formed 
by the Mississippi. Added to this are 1700 square miles 
by Red river, and 4600 square miles by other streams, 
making the grand total of 19,300 square miles of alluvial 
lands, or over one-third of the state. 

The principal rivers are the Mississippi and the Red. 
The smaller streams in the bottoms form such a network 
that it is often difficult to trace them. As a rule some 
large bayou flows along the edge of the bottom plain. 
For example, Bayou Macon is on the west of the Mis- 
sissippi flood plain; Ouachita river on the extreme west 
of the central plain ; Bayous Bo^uf and Teche on the 
west of the flood plain of the Red river. In North 
Louisiana the rivers follow the slope of the underlying 
rocks. In the eastern part of this section they flow 
southeastward into the Ouachita, and southward into 
the Red. In the extreme south those west of the 
Mississippi flow southward into the Gulf ; those east, 
southeastward into Lakes Maurepas, Pontchartrain, and 
Borgne. 

Lowlands. — All the lands in the flood plain of a stream 
are below the level of high water in that stream. This is 
due to the sediment deposited near the banks of the 
stream during the high waters and overflows. Hence, 
back from the main watercourse we usually find swamps. 



LAKES 9 

Bayous. — The word " ba3'ou " is often misused. Bayous 
are small streams running from larger ones and during 
high water receive water from these streams. They are 
often beneficial in times of floods. Bayous are usually 
remnants of former river channels. 

PRACTICAL STUDIES 

1. Obtain a glass fruit jar or large bottle. Fill with water and 
mix in gravel, sand, clay, and silt. Shake thoroughly, and after 
allowing the material to settle answer the following questions : Are 
all classes of sediment deposited at the same time? Is the material 
in layers when the settling is complete ? Which settles last, the fine 
or coarse material? How does standing w^ater sort materials? 

2. Drop materials similar to those used in the first experiment into 
rapid running water. What materials settle first? last? Are these 
substances in layers in running water ? How does the separation which 
takes place in running water differ from that of standing water? 

3. Compare the lower courses of Red river and the Mississippi, in 
Louisiana, with same streams nearer their origin. Why are their 
channels more winding in Louisiana? Why more cut-offs? Why are 
their flood plains wider in Louisiana? Why are Louisiana soils not 
so coarse as in other sections higher up the larger streams? 

Lakes 

The lakes of Louisiana are of at least four types. 
Cutoff or horseshoe lakes are abundant along the rivers 
and are best seen on the map of the Lower Mississippi. 
A river in an alluvial flood plain is constantly cutting the 
banks on the outside and filling on the inside of bends. 
When two parts of a great bend approach near each 
other, the intervening neck, during a freshet, will be cut 
through, forming a cut-off. The connections between the 
river and the portions of the river cut off, will gradually 
become filled with sand-bars, and finally entirely sepa- 
rated from the river. 



10 LOUISIANA 

Lakes of enclosure are quite common and owe their ori- 
gin to the formation of natural levees by the river. Each 
river on its edges forms, by waves, embankments or levees, 
which are higher than the ground level away from the 
stream. In a great loop or bend these natural levees 
often meet and enclose a basin or lake. Sometimes a 
hill or section of elevated ground aids the rivers in the 
formation of these levees. 

Elongated lakes, which are most abundant on Red river, 
have been formed by the elevation of the river flats. This 
river carries relatively a large quantity of sediment which, 
as the stream becomes more sluggish, is deposited and in 
this Avay fills in the mouths and valleys of the smaller 
streams. Thus the whole lower valleys of these inflowing 
streams is converted into elongated lakes, some of which 
flow into the parent stream during high water. 

Coastal Lakes. — Numerous large lakes are formed near 
the coast in the southern part of the state. Most of 
these lakes are cut-off bays formed by the deposits made 
by the meeting of incoming gulf currents and currents 
returning from the bay. These deposits continue to grow 
until the bays are enclosed and become lakes. Lake 
Sabine, Calcasieu lake, and Grand lake in Calcasieu parish 
are excellent examples of coastal lakes. 

PRACTICAL STUDIES 

1. Carefully examine the valley of some streamlet and find as many 
lake types as possible. 

2. Describe the principal lakes you have seen. Are they of any 
use to man ? 

3. Locate on the map lakes representing each of the types de- 
scribed. 

4. Examine the relief map for coastal lakes in all stages of forma- 
tion. 



SOIL AND PHYSICAL FEATURES 11 

Soil and Physical Features 

Louisiana possesses a varied topography. Two gen- 
eral subdivisions may be made : the hill country and the 
level country. There are three classes of land in the 
hill country : the good uplands, the pine hills, and 
the bluff lands. Five classes of land are to be found 
in the level country : the arable alluvial lands, the prai- 
ries, the pine flats, the wooded swamps, and the coast 
marshes. There is an extensive water surface over the 
eastern and southern portion of the state, which is of 
great importance. This water surface includes a vast 
multitude of rivers, creeks, bayous, lakes, and bays. 

The good uplands lie mostly in northern Louisiana. 
The forest growth of the uplands consists of various kinds 
of oak, — the red, white, black, and post oak predominat- 
ing, — beech, dogwood, sassafras, hickory, black gum, 
sweet gum, ash, maple, and short-leaf pine, and bushes 
such as the hackberry, chinquapin, elder, sourwood, 
prickly-ash, and fox grape and muscadine vines. The 
uplands are extremely hilly in some places, and there are 
ridcres that reach an elevation of between four hundred 

o 

and five hundred feet. 

The soil of the uplands is as a rule gray, sandy, easily 
worked, and at first productive, but unfortunately it washes 
badly and in many sections now presents a ragged and worn 
appearance. There are, however, notable exceptions to the 
gray, sandy soil, large areas being covered with a fertile 
yellow loam. There are also belts of a red soil which is 
very fertile. The good uplands embrace an area of more 
than 5,000,000 acres. 

The pine hills are in the parishes of Catahoula, Winn, 



12 



LOUISIANA 



Grant, Natcliitoclies, Rapides, Vernon, Calcasieu, St. 
Helena, Tangipalioa, Washington, St. Tammany, and 




Fig. 7. 
Agricultural map of Louisiana. 



Livingston. Find them on the map (Fig. 7). These 
parishes contain excellent lands. The pine hills em- 
brace nearly 6,000,000 acres. The forest growth con- 



SOIL AND PHYSICAL FEATURES 13 

sists, to the exclusion of almost every other tree, of the 
long-leaf pine and the scrub black-jack oak. Where the 
Red river and other large streams flow through the pine 
hills, large areas of fine alluvial lands are found. This 
section produces great quantities of excellent pine lumber. 

The bluff lands present the most peculiar and interest- 
ing topographic features in Louisiana. The Bayou Macon 
hills in West Carroll parish are the beginning of these 
bluffs in the north ; they are then easily traced south- 
ward through Richland, Franklin, Catahoula, Rapides, 
Avoyelles, Feliciana, Baton Rouge, and St. Landry 
parishes ; thence southward into the dreary salt marshes, 
where the five islands of Attakapas are. The soil of the 
bluff lands is of a yellowish gray color and is very fertile. 
It is easily cultivated, washes badly, gets muddy easily, 
and becomes dusty in dry weather. The bluff lands cover 
an area of nearly 2,000,000 acres. 

Many parishes have alluvial lands within their bor- 
ders, especially along the streams. The lands nearest the 
streams are moderately sandy and easily worked, Avhile 
farther back the land is black, stiff, and sometimes diffi- 
cult to cultivate. The arable alluvial lands (nearly 
4,000,000 acres) are very productive and are a source 
of great wealth. 

The wooded alluvial lands border on the arable, and 
cover an area of probably 2,750,000 acres. Much of the 
Atchafalaya basin is classed as wooded swamp, but a great 
part of it is no doubt susceptible of reclamation. The 
swamps of this basin abound in cypress timber of great 
value. 

The prairie region of 2,500,000 acres constitutes one of 
the most interesting parts of Louisiana. This territory is 



14 LOUISIANA 

almost entirely west of Bayou Cocodrie. On the south 
it is limited by the extensive sea marshes into which it 
passes. On the west the Calcasieu and Sabine rivers 
form the boundary line. This extensive area thus broadly 
defined is not an unbroken, treeless expanse, for on the 
borders of the many bayous, flowing through it generally 
in a north and south direction, grow forests of timber, 
including the celebrated Louisiana pecan. The scene 
presented to the vision is undulating, not unlike the bil- 
lows of a deep sea. The detached clumps of trees some- 
times bear the designation "island," together with some 
local name. The poetic beauties of this section are 
described in Longfellow's poem "Evangeline, A Tale of 
Acadia." The soil of the prairies is of either a grayish 
yellow or a cold gray color, and is very productive under 
proper cultivation. 

The pine flats cover an area of 1,500,000 acres. We 
find the pine flats principally in St. Tammany, Tangi- 
pahoa, and Livingston parishes in the eastern part of the 
state, and in Calcasieu in the western part. The soil is 
sandy and generally classed as poor, but promises much 
in the line of truck farming. The timber is mostly pine. 

There are nearly 4,000,000 acres classed as " coast 
marsh." The coast of Louisiana has been divided into two 
divisions. The coast-line of the eastern division extends 
from Pearl river to Vermilion bay in the shape of an arc. 
All this part of the coast is extremely irregular, being 
indented by numerous bays and cut up by thousands of 
lakes and bayous into a labyrinth of peninsulas and 
islands. The coast-line of the western division extends 
from Vermilion bay to Sabine lake, and is very regular. 
There are no outlying islands. The coast marsh covers 



CLIMATIC CONDITIONS 15 

an area from Pearl river to Sabine lake along the Gulf 
of Mexico, varying in width from ten to thirty miles. It 
is low and wet and subject to tidal overflow. Numerous 
lakes and bayous intersect it, and it is almost impassable 




Fig. 8. 



Cubett's Island, a " Mud-lump " between South and Southeast pass. This is a 
typical view of the outer edge of the delta of the Mississippi. Notice the 
grass growing on the top of the "Mud-lump." 

in places. The sea marsh is found in portions of Cameron, 
Vermilion, St. Mary, Terrebonne, Lafourche, Jefferson, 
Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and Orleans parishes. 

Climatic Conditions 

The mean annual temperature ranges from 65° at Lake 
Providence to 70° at Port Eads. The range in the mean 
annual temperature within 100 miles of the coast amounts 
to only 1°. After passing 100 miles inland the change in 
the temperature is more abrupt, and there is a drop in the 
mean annual temperature amounting to 2° in about 100 
miles. The extreme range in the mean annual tempera- 
ture over the northern half of the state amounts to 



16 LOUISIANA 

barely 1°. January has the lowest, and July the highest, 
mean temperature in all parts of the state. 

The mean temperature for the hottest month is 83° in 
the coast section, and 82° elsewhere, except in the piney 
woods and prairie sections, where it is 81°. 

There is a narrow strip of land along the coast where 
the highest temperature has never reached 100°, and as far 
north as New Orleans it has not reached this degree ex- 
cept in one year (1901). The highest temperature in the 
state occurs over the central portion of North Louisiana 
and in the region of the pine hills and the uplands. Here 
the absolute maximum temperature at differer.t stations 
ranges from 107° to 109°. 

New Orleans may be taken as a representative station 
for the extreme southern portion of the state. The tem- 
perature has reached 100° in only one year, and while it 
reaches 90° every year, there have been eleven years out of 
the past thirt}^ in which the maximum did not go as high 
as 95°. Daring thirty years there have been only 73 days 
when the maximum temperature rose to or above 95° at 
New Orleans. At Shreveport, in the northern portion 
of the state, there have been thirteen years during the 
past thirty years in which the maximum temperature 
did not reach 100°. During this period of thirty years 
the maximum temperature at Shreveport rose to or above 
100° on only 177 days. 

Tlie absolute minimum temperature ranges from 10° at 
Port Eads to 5° below zero at Shreveport. During thirty 
years the minimum temperature at New Orleans has been 
below 32° on only 116 days, or on an average of 4 days 
in each year. There have been, however, three years in 
which the minimum temperature did not fall below freez- 



CLIMATIC CONDITIONS 17 

ing. There have been only eight years, or one in four, 
with the minimum as low as 22°, and in five of these years 
it occurred on but one day. The mean minimum temper- 
ature for the northern portion of the state is about 10° 
below that for the southern portion. 

The average annual rainfall amounts to more than 55 
inches over the extreme eastern portion and gradually 
diminishes westward over the southern portion of the 
state to 46 inches. 

Snow falls on an average of once in three to once in five 
years over the southern portion of the state, about once in 
a year over the central portion, and twice a year over the 
northern portion. 

The last killing frost in spring over an area covering 
the southeastern portion of the state and extending about 
100 miles inland occurs on January 24 to 26. The last 
killing frost in spring on a line passing westward south 
of Covington, Thibodaux, Morgan City, and Cameron oc- 
curs on February 1. The last killing frost in spring on 
a line which passes westward halfway between Coving- 
ton and Amite through Baton Rouge, Grand Coteau, and 
Sugartown occurs on March 1. The average date of the 
last killing frost in spring on a lin; passing westward to 
the south of Amite and Clinton and thence northward 
through Monroe is March 15. The average date of the 
first killing frost in autumn, south of New Orleans, is 
after December 15. The average date of the occurrence 
of the first killing frost in autumn, along a line passing 
westward south of Amite and iVIelville, thence northward 
to the west of Alexandria and to the east of Shreveport, is 
November 15. 

When was the last killing frost last spring at your home ? 



18 LOUISIANA 

Make a record of the first killing frost at your home next 
fall. If your school keeps accurate records of this kind 
for a few years, they will prove very interesting and 
valuable. 

Influences of Physical Features on Climate 

The topographic features as they exist in Louisiana, 
varying from extensive stretches of level lands to mod- 
erate hills, do not materially influence climatic conditions, 
but the physical features which exist cause widely differ- 
ent climatic conditions in different parts of the state. The 
network of bays, bayous, and lakes which indent the 
southern portion of the state for more than a hundred 
miles inland plays an important part in the control of 
the daily, seasonal, and annual temperatuxcs, and gives 
to this section more of an oceanic than a continental 
climate. The moderate and equable temperature of the 
waters of the Gulf of Mexico, which come and go with 
the tides, keeps the temperature of the adjacent lands 
relatively low during the day and in summer and rela- 
tively high during the nig-ht and in winter. As a result 
of these conditions the lange in temperature between 
day and night and the hot and cold seasons is compara- 
tively small. There are no marked physical features over 
the northern portion of the state which specially influence 
the climate of any extensive area. However, prevailing 
southerly winds from the Gulf of Mexico materially influ- 
ence the climatic conditions in all parts of the state. These 
winds give a fresh and vigorous tone to the atmosphere 
during the summer months and moderate the cold in the 
Avinter season. 



MINERALS 



Minerals 



19 



Salt. — Salt is found at various points in the state. In 
1726 the Indians made salt at what is now known as 
Drake's Salt-works on Saline bayou, about 25 miles from 
Natchitoches. In 1812 three wells had been sunk which 
furnished water for thirty kettles, each capable of liolding 
660 gallons, producing 240 barrels of salt per month. In 
the early forties a well a little over 1000 feet deep was 
bored and an artesian flow obtained, but this proved to be 
a weaker solution. 

Rayburn's Salt-works, used extensively during the Civil 
War, are situated 10 miles southeast of Bienville. These 
wells then produced nearly 350 barrels daily. Many old 
furnaces are still in existence in this locality. 

However, the most profitable salt deposit in Louisiana 
is in ''the Five Islands of the Attakapas," located in 
Iberia and St. Mary parishes. These so-called islands 
are really not islands, but a group of liills, each from one 
to three miles in extent, and from 50 to 150 feet in eleva- 
tion. They run from a line halfway between New Iberia 
and Abbeville southeast to the mouth of Atchafalaya river 
and are named Jefferson or Orange Island, Weeks' Island, 
Avery Island, C5te Blanche, and Belle Isle. Salt is found 
at a depth of a few feet, but the exact thickness of the 
stratum has not been determined. However, on Jefferson 
Island the salt rock has been penetrated 2100 feet without 
passing through the salt bed. At various times from 1791 
to 1862 salt was manufactured from salt springs on Avery 
Island. The salt rock was discovered in 1862 while deep- 
ening a spring. At first salt was obtained by means of a 
shaft about 83 feet deep, but in 1897 a new shaft was 



20 



LOUISIANA 




Salt Works in oi-der named 
^ Sulphur Mines. 
■ Leading Oil Fields. 
® Marble Quarry. 



Fig. 9. 
Mineral map of Louisiana. 

sunk about 500 feet, and the new works equipped witli 
modern machinery. The salt-works on Weeks' Island 
are modern and up-to-date, and produce great quantities 
of salt (Fig. 10). In 1898 a shaft was sunk on Belle Isle. 
Louisiana produces annually about 250,000 barrels of 
salt. In thickness and purity the Louisiana salt deposit 



MINERALS 



21 



easily outranks any other yet known in the United States, 
and on the basis of thickness and purity the Louisiana 
salt beds rank third, and possibly second in the great salt 
deposits of the world. Find the salt deposits on map 
(Fig. 0). 




Fig. 10. 

Drilling blast holes in the salt mines at Weeks' Island. 

Sulphur. — For the first time a large shipment of 
American raw sulphur was exported to Europe in 
October, 1904. The cargo consisted of 3000 tons and 
was shipped from Louisiana to France. Sulphur was dis- 
covered in Calcasieu parish thirty-five years ago, while 
boring for petroleum. The sulphur found was practically 
useless, however, being buried under -100 feet of quick- 



22 



LOUISIANA 



sand. After the failure of all known methods used in 
mining sulphur, an entirely new process was successfully 
applied. The sulphur is extracted by the application of 
water, heated under pressure to many degrees above the 
boiling point. It is forced by means of iron pipes into 
the sulphur rock. The sulphur is melted by the heat, but 
does not dissolve in the water. Being heavier than the 




Fig. 11. 

Sulphur works at Sulphur. The great tanks here shown contain twenty-five 

thousand tons of sulphur. 

water it falls to the bottom of the well, and then is easily 
raised to the surface by means of air pumps. When the 
liquid sulphur reaches the surface, it is pumped into reser- 
voirs where it solidifies, and is then ready for shipment. 
This sulphur is shipped in lumps which are 99.9 per cent 
pure, and requires no refining. 

The sulphur wells are over 600 feet deep. Four or five 
of them are operated night and day, and the product 



MINERALS 23 

flows into the reservoirs at an average rate of over 1000 
tons daily. These mines now supply more than two 
thirds of the world's sulphur. Sulphur is shipped from 
the mines daily by train loads, and is afterwards sent by 
water to New York and other places. Locate the sul- 
phur deposit on the map (Fig. 9). 

Oil. — The recent discovery of petroleum in southwest 
Louisiana has disclosed not only the most important min- 
eral resource of the state, but also the most abundant oil 
field in the United States. The first great oil well, or 
" gusher," in the state was '' brought in " at Jennings, in 
Calcasieu parish, September 17, 1901. Since that time 
many wells have been sunk in the same vicinity, to an 
average depth of nearly 2000 feet, and have produced 
within one year an aggregate of nearly ten million barrels 
of crude petroleum, The railroads cannot furnish cars 
enough to remove this oil as rapidly as it flows, nor can 
steel tanks sufficient in number and capacity to hold it be 
constructed quickly enough ; so the oil must be stored in 
great reservoirs or pits dug in the ground about five feet 
deep and banked up around the sides eight feet above the 
surface of the ground. One of these reservoirs covers 
twenty-five acres of ground and holds more than a mil- 
lion barrels of oil. Hundreds of miles of pipe lines are 
being laid to convey this oil to points on the Atchafalaya 
River and elsewhere, where it may be transported by 
boats. 

This vein of petroleum underlies a very large area of 
both southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas, and seems 
practically inexhaustible. Its first discovery in commer- 
cial quantities was at Beaumont, Texas, in January, 1901. 
At Anse La Butte, near Lafayette, where gas has been 



24 



LOUISIANA 



noticed for many years to be rising out of the ground, a 
number of wells have also been successfully "brought in." 
The stimulating influences of this discovery on the indus- 
tries of the country have already been great, causing a 
change from the use of coal to the use of oil as a fuel 
in many hundreds of steam-operated plants, including 
the locomotive engines of the Southern Pacific Rail- 
road. The picture (Fig. 12) shows one of the great 



A 


MH^H 




WjM 


■■^^■■■i 


^^^■MMiillBHBiHlilHi^HHll 



Fig. 12. 
Oil wells at Jennings. Under each derrick is a well. 



" gushers " in the Jennings oil field on fire. Locate the 
oil fields on the map (Fig. 9). 

Clays suitable for making brick are common in the allu- 
vial regions, and at many places in the hills. At Robeline 
small earthenware objects have been made from lignitic 
clays. Samples of white clay found in Catahoula parish, 
it is claimed, have made good stoneware. 

Sandstone is found within the state, and is used for rip- 
rap and jetty w^ork and for railroad ballast. 



AGRICULTURE ^ 25 

Limestone, which has been used for making lime, is 
found at Winnfield, Coochie Brake, and Bayou Chicot. 

Lignite in small quantities is found at several points. 
In DeSoto, Sabine, Caddo, and Catahoula parishes there 
are beds three or four feet thick. 



Agriculture 

Not onl}^ are cotton, sugar-cane, and rice staple products 
in Louisiana, but her soil is capable of producing great 
quantities of hay, and supporting fine herds of cattle. 
Wheat can be grown in the northern part of the state. 
Oats are successfully grown, especially in the alluvial 
lands. Rye and barley thrive in all sections, and are 
sometimes sown for winter pasture. Two successive crops 
of buckwheat have beon grown in the same soil in one 
year. Corn can be grown without difficulty all over the 
state. Upon the alluvial lands of South Louisiana the sugar 
experiment station has for several years averaged over a 
hundred bushels of corn per acre upon a field of eight or 
ten acres. Sixty to ninety bushels are the average yields 
upon the rotation field of the North Louisiana experiment 
station, situated at Callioun, upon the yellow sand}^ loams 
of the oak and short-leaf-j^ine hills. The Commissioner 
of Agriculture for Louisiana suggests the following excel- 
lent note : " One caution is needed in planting grains of all 
kinds here, — tliat is, for a general crop use home-grown 
acclimated seed." For example, corn grown here is planted 
in early March, and harvested in August and September ; 
while seed from the extreme north phmted at the same 
time will probably mature in May, and that too with only 
a partial crop. Wheat and oats, on the contrary, planted 



26 LOUISIANA 

in the fall from seed raised in the extreme north, will not 
ripen before June or July, if at all (the rust frequently 
destroying it before ripening), while home-raised seed 
sown at the same time will be ready for harvest in May. 
If, therefore, we desire an early crop of corn, we obtain 
seed from the north, and if an early crop of oats, wheat, 
barley, or rye, we send south for the seed. The rensnns 




Fig. 13. 
Truck-growing near Winnfield. 

are obvious when we remember that each comes to us 
inheriting the habits of the country from which it came. 
In the north summers are short and the time of the growth 
of corn is therefore limited. In the south the winters are 
short and the period of repose is therefore shortened and 
early maturity follows. Probably no other state is better 
adapted to growing vegetables and ordinary farm crops. 
Trucking is becoming of more and more importance each 
year, and bids fair to become a source of great wealth to 



AGRICULTURE 27 

the state. Hammond is the principal trucking centre at 
present. There is no reason why Louisiana should not 
become the winter garden of Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas 
City, and other places in the far north. 

Louisiana produces many varieties of fruits. Berries 
grow luxuriantly in all sections, while figs grow in abun- 
dance and seldom fail to produce a crop. Blackberries, 
dewberries, and mulberries grow wild in every parish, 
while strawberries thrive everywhere in the state and are 
often grown for market. Oranges, kumquats, and pomelos 
are grown in South Louisiana, while lemons, guavas, 
bananas, and pineapples are grown on the extreme gulf 
coast. Perique tobacco, the finest tobacco in the world, 
is grown in the parishes of St. James and St. Mary. 

PRACTICAL STUDIES 

1. Write a list of the vegetable crops grown in your locality and 
shipped to other sections ; also a list of those grown solely for home 
use. 

2. Describe the methods of raising these vegetables; when planted ; 
how cultivated. What soils are considered best for each vegetable? 

3. Select the best specimens of fruits and vegetables you can 
gather and bring to class. 

Cotton is the principal product of eight great states of 
the Union, and the most valuable money crop of the 
entire country. Climatic conditions practically restrict 
its cultivation to a group of states constituting less than 
one-fourth of the total area of the United States, and yet 
the value of the annual crop is exceeded among cultivated 
products only by corn, wliich is grown in every state of 
the Union, and occasionally by wheat. Cotton furnishes 
one-fourth to one-third of our total exports. Of the four 
great staples that provide man with clothing, cotton, silk. 



28 LOUISIANA 

wool, and flax, cotton by reason of its cheapness and 
many excellences is rapidly superseding tlie others. The 
spindles of the world now use over 17,000,000 bales per 
annum. Of this amount Louisiana produced in 1904, 
946,071 bales. What part of the total cotton crop of 
the world did Louisiana produce? 

The following parishes raised over 30,000 bales each 
in 1904 : — 

St. Landry 63,300 

Avoyelles 46,000 

Pointe Coupee 45,000 

Caddo 43,350 

Rapides 40,000 

Bossier 37,400 

Tensas 36,000 

Morehonse 35,000 

De Soto 31,200 

Xatchitoches 30,561 

Which parish produced tlie most cotton ? Locate these 
parishes on the map (Fig. 1). 

Send to the State Commissioner of Agriculture for a 
copy of liis last report and find out how much cotton your 
parish raised last year. What part of the total crop of 
the state was it? 

The cotton plant yields, in fact, a double crop — a most 
beautiful fibre and a seed yielding oil, feed, and fer- 
tilizer. In addition to this, the stems can be made to 
yield a fibre which waits only for a machine to work it, 
while the root yields a drug. Thus you see nearly every 
part of the plant can be utilized to make our state rich. 

About two-thirds of the entire cotton crop of the 
United States is exported. To what countries does most 
of it go ? 



AGRICULTUTtB 



29 




Fig. 14. 

Levee scene, New Orleans. The sugar and cotton have been unloaded from 
the steamboats that ply on the Mississippi and its tributaries. On the 
extreme left you can see a large sugar refinery that makes granulated 
sugar from raw sugar. 

The Louisiana planter sells his cotton to his merchant or 
hauls it to some centre, where cotton buyers representing 
cotton factors in New Orleans, Shreveport, or other large 
cities, grade it and buy it. It is then hauled by train or 
carried by steamboat to New Orleans, where it is loaded 
in large ocean steamships that carry it acioss the ocean to 
England or perhaps to the mills of New England. Be- 
fore shipping by rail it is often taken to a "compress," 
where it is pressed into a new and smaller bale so as to 
take up less room in the car. Wliere is the nearest com- 
press to your home ? Figure 15 shows the " Big Lou " 
compress at Shreveport, which is the largest in the world. 

Up to the present time Louisiana has had very few 
cotton mills, but several are being organized. 



30 



LOUISIANA 



The United States was the last to enter the list of 
cotton-producing countries, and has been for a hundred 
years the foremost of them all. Cotton is thought to 
have been grown in Louisiana previous to 1697. It early 
attracted the n,ttention of the French colonists, and in 
1752 the French Minister gave an excellent account of 
its growth. Great difficulty was experienced in separating 




Fig. 15. 

The "Big Lou" Compress, Shreveport — the largest compress in the world. 
It can compress twenty-five hundred bales of cotton per day. In 1904 over 
a hundred thousand bales were compressed here, or about one-fourth the 
cotton handled in Shreveport. 



the seed from the lint. The work was done by hand, 
four pounds per week being the average of each head of a 
family, which amounts to one bale in two years. Du- 
breuil, a French planter of Louisiana, is said to have 
invented a machine for separating the lint and seed as 
early as 1742. 



AGRICULTURE 



31 



PRACTICAL STUDIES 

1. Make a description of the cotton plant accompanied by drawings. 

2. Write out what you know of the plant and crop from obser- 
vation and experience, including cultivation and preparation for 
market.^ 

3. Describe the cotton-gin. Compress. Oil mill. 

4. Go into some store and by examining brands find out where 
the leading cotton articles are prepared for the trade. Why are not 
these things made in Louisiana ? 

Sugar. — As early as 1751 the Jesuit fathers brought to 
Louisiana samples of sugar-cane for the purpose of adding 




Fiu. l(i. 

Carts loaded with cane at a sugar-house. Notice how the cane is unloaded. 
It is then placed on a moving carrier, which feeds it to the heavy rollers 
that squeeze the juice from it. 

to the resources of the colony. Tbe first sugar-house 
experiment resulted in failure. Tn 1794 Bore announced 

1 The pupil should find out from observation and inquiry every stage, 
in detail, of cotton growing and maturing. He should not proceed with 
the idea that he already understands the subject. It is more important 
to understand the thinofs sirown at home than something grown elsewhere. 



32 LOUISIANA 

that he had discovered the process necessary to obtain 
grained sugar. The essential change introduced by Bore 
was probably the use of alkali or lime in some form, for 
the purpose of neutralizing the free acids formed in cane 
juice, thus materially assisting the process of granulation. 
Thus success in making sugar on a commercial scale gave 
new life to the cane-producing industry, and many phm- 
tations were soon established. The first steam-driven mill 
for crushing cane was erected in 1821. At first evapora- 
tion kettles were used, but in 1830 vacuum pans were 
substituted, and soon boneblack came into use for clari- 
fying the syrup, thus producing a nearly chemically pure 
white sugar. In 1846 Rillieux, a native of Louisiana, 
worked out a system for using tlie hot vapor arising from 
a vessel of boiling cane juice to evaporate the water con- 
tained in a second vessel of cane juice. This discovery 
laid the foundation for the elaborate system of evaporation 
now in use. 

The modern sugar-house, equipped with Corliss engine, 
double mills, crusher, and all of the latest improved clari- 
fying, evaporating, and concentrating apparatus, is erected 
at an expense, exclusive of cost of buildings, of about 
$250 for each ton of cane which can be passed through 
the mills in a day ; or, in other words, the cost of machin- 
ery in a Louisiana sugar-house which is capable of crush- 
ing 1000 tons of cane in twenty-four hours is about 
1250,000. 

The early steam sugar-houses produced a quantity of 
sugar equal in weight to about 21 per cent of the weight 
of the cane milled, a ton of cane yielding about 50 pounds 
of moist sugar. The sugar-house of the present day 
averages about 8 per cent, or 160 pounds of sugar, to the 



AGRICULTURE 



33 



ton of cane — more than three times the yield secared even 
by steam power in the early days. 

At the present time mills are supplied with the sulphur 
machine, and sulphurous gas is injected for the purpose 
of bleaching and rendering antiseptic, boneblack being 
no longer used. The use of sulphurous gas has enabled 
a reasonably white, or choice yellow sugar to be made 




Fig. 17. 

Suiijar-house at Baton Rouge. Here the cane is ground and the juice evapo- 
rated and clarified until molasses or sugar is obtained. 

directly from the cane, a thing the pioneers in the indus- 
try thought impossible. Nowhere do we find a better 
illustration of the immense benefit to be derived from 
the use of scientific experiments and improved methods 
than in the development of Louisiana's sugar industries 
to their present great proportions. i 

The leading sugar-producing parishes in 1904 were as 
follows : — 



34 



LOUISIANA 





Acreage 


Hogsheads of 
1000 Lbs. 


Barrels op 
Molasses of 50 
Gallons each 


St. Martin 


67,728 


68,000 


45,000 


Assumption 


30,500 


80.r)00 


85,160 


Iberia 


30,000 


80,000 


70,000 


Iberville . 


30,000 


87,000 


80,000 


Ascension. 


23,740 


35,464 


63,385 


St. John the Baptist 


22,800 


43,400 


20,750 


Terrebonne 


22,800 


68,000 


45,000 


Lafourche 


20,150 


42,500 


50,000 



Which had the greatest acreage ? Which produced the 
most sugar ? the most molasses ? Locate these parishes 
on the map (Fig. 7). 

The sugar-cane crop suffers occasionally from deficiency 
in rainfall during the growing season, but the greatest 
losses in the past have resulted from the sudden and 
unexpected occurrence of temperatures of 28° or below 
during November and December. One severe freeze has 
been known to wreck the fortunes of many individual 
planters. Sugar-cane, being a tropical plant, must be 
harvested before certain temperatures occur which ruin 
its essential qualities, and seed cane must be protected 
from injury during the cold and rainy season. The sugar 
crop increases materially in value with every day that the 
cane can be left growing. In this section cane cannot 
be allowed to grow more than nine months before the 
manufacture of the crop is commenced, usually early in 
November, which is very much in contrast with the 
methods that prevail in the tropics, where the crop is 
not considered matured until after a growth of fourteen 
to eighteen months. Cane which is allowed to stand in 



AGRICULTURE 



35 



this section until January (about twelve months from 
time of planting) is much richer in sugar than that har- 
vested in November. It is ver}^ much desired by the 
planter to be able to cut his cane only as fast as is 
required to keep the mills running, and thereby get a 




Fig. 18. 

A typical South Louisiana cane-grower's house. Notice the beautiful live- 
oak trees with the hanging moss. 

larger percentage of sugar ; but as temperatures suffi- 
ciently low to kill cane occur before the crop can be 
manufactured, on an average of about once in three years, 
he could not afford to run the risk of losing a good por- 
tion of every third crop in order to get the increased 
product of the other two. Hence the bulk of the cane 
crop is windrowed early in the season at the expense of 
the further development of sugar. To windrow it, the 
cane is cut and laid on the ground so that each stalk is 
protected by the leaves of others. This prevents the cane 
from freezing and in turn the juice from becoming sour. 
The United States Weather Bureau has in recent years 
come to the assistance of the sugar planter, and now tells 



36 LOUISIANA 

him without failure sufficiently in advance of the occur- 
rence of temperature which will injure his cane, to enable 
him to put it in windrow. With full confidence in the 
warnings of the Weather Bureau, the planter now allows 
his cane to stand and develop until he is advised that 
the temperature Avill fall to 28° or lower. Upon receipt 
of such warnings he at once windrows his cane. It has 
been found that cane in windrow can be carried safely 
through the lowest temperatures that have occurred dur- 
ing the harvesting season. By the use of the warnings 
of the Weather Bureau in allowing his cane to stand 
until advised to windrow it, the planter not only gets that 
increased product of growth during the two years out of 
three that the temperature does not fall to 28° during the 
sugar-making season, but he also gets the increased 
product of growth in the year that the temperature of 
28° occurs up to the date of occurrence of such tempera- 
ture. The average value of the warnings to the sugar 
planters is estimated at more than ^^1, 000, 000 annually. 

PRACTICAL STUDIES 

1. Make a description of the sugar-cane, accompanied by draw- 
ings. i 

2. AVrite out what you know of the plant and crop from observa- 
tion and experience, inchiding cultivation and preparation for market. 

3. Describe a sugar refinery. 

Rice. — The story of the development of the rice indus- 
try in Louisiana is exceedingly interesting. The industry 

1 The student should find out from observation and inquiry every stage, 
in detail, of cane growing and maturing. He should not proceed with the 
idea that he already understands the subject. It is more important to 
understand the things grown at home than something grown elsewhere. 



AGRICULTURE 37 

first assumed noticeable proportions directly after the Civil 
War, when the abandoned sugar plantations suggested 
the possibilities of growing rice on a large scale. At first 
all the rice grown in the state was cultivated on the 
banks of the Mississippi river and its outlying bayous, 
and watered by these streams. Upon these alluvial lands 
growing rice was au expensive business, involving the 
outlay of a large sum of money and the expenditure of 
much labor. 

About 1855 Southern Louisiana began to attract atten- 
tion as a rice-growing section, although the industry was 
conducted in a primitive way. Rain-water was collected 
by levees and used when needed upon the fields of grow- 
ing rice. The story of the "rice belt," which extends 
400 miles through southern and central Louisiana and 
southeastern Texas, from the banks of the Mississippi to 
beyond the Brazos river, varying in width from 20 to 
50 miles, is the old familiar one of the triumph of science, 
skill, and energy over what to some seemed superhuman 
difficulties. 

At first water was collected in reservoirs dug with the 
plough and shovel. The efforts of the planters were re- 
warded by harvests so abundant as to repay them in spite 
of the frequent failure of the reservoirs and the loss of a 
year's work by drouth. The method of irrigation was 
changed, and primitive modes were discarded. The 
magnitude of the success attracted settlers from all 
sections of the United States. During the last eighteen 
years some 350,000 acres have been reclaimed for rice 
culture, and 50,000 acres yearly are being added, every 
square foot of which is irrigated during the growing 
seasons, necessitating a network of canals aggregating 



38 



LOUISIANA 



over 1000 miles (Fig. 19). The 30,000 rice-growers have 
invested #20,000,000, including the value of lands, canals, 
and macliinery. It is estimated that 4,000,000 acres have 
a natural supply of water to be obtained by piercing the 
earth's crust to tlie reservoir beneath or from streams 
intersecting the country. The area under cultivation 




Fig. 19. 

Rice irrigation canal near Crowley. The water is pumped into such canals 
and by them and their network of branches and ditches is distributed to 
the various rice fields. The water is sold to the planter by the irrigation 
company owning the canals and pumping stations. 

already yields annually 2,000,000 barrels, requiring 10,000 
cars to transport it to market. However, it supplies only 
about two-thirds of the quantity used in the United 
States. 

The following parishes produced over 5,000,000 pounds 
of cleaned rice in 1904: — 



AGRICULTURE 39 

Lbs. of Cleaned Rice 

Vermilion 71,250,000 

Calcasieu 62,000,000 

Acadia 57,600,000 

Iberia 10,000,000 

Iberville ....... 6,030,000 

Cameron 6,200,006 

St. Charles 5,344,500 

Find these parishes on the agricultural map (Fig. 7). 
Which parish leads in the production of rice ? 




Fig. 20. 
Rice threshing near Crowley. The thresher is in the centre of the picture. 
At the right of it are the wagons loaded with rice waiting to deliver their 
loads to it. On the extreme left is a heap of chaff. Can you see the sacks 
of rice? The steam engine that runs the thresher? After the rice is 
threshed it goes to the mill to be polished. 

The phenomenal develoj^ment in the field has been 
equalled in the factory — for almost every town or village 
in the rice section has one or more rice mills. These mills 
buy the rough rice directly from the planters and ship 
the finished product to the markets of the world. 

Modern ideas and systematic methods attend the grow- 
ing of the grain from seed-time until it leaves the field to 



40 LOUISIANA ♦ 

be sorted and prepared for the market. Dirt is thrown 
up around each tract, whether it contains 50 or 5000 
acres, by the ditching plough. The tilling and seeding are 
done after the manner of putting in ordinary oats. Water 
flows upon the shoots wdien a few inches out of ground, 
and until harvest time in early autumn the country is 
turned into a series of lakes, for the plant roots must ])e 
kept submerged for three or four months, to a depth of 
two or three inches. When the grain reaches maturit}', 
the water is turned off ; the ground rapidly dries. Then 
no fewer than 5000 harvesters, actually doing the work of 
200,000 men, soon harvest the golden stalks. The steam 
tliresher following converts the chaff and straw into 
mammoth stacks, pouring the pearly cereal into a hundred 
bags in a single day (Fig. 20). 

PRACTICAL STUDIES 

Read the following : — 

" The present status of Rice Culture in the United States " and 
" Rice Culture in the United States." Both of these bulletins were 
prepared by Dr. S. A. Knapp, of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and are 
pul)lished by the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 
Bulletin (51 of the Louisiana Experiment Station, Baton Rouge, deals 
with preparation, cultivation, etc., of rice and was written by Dr. AV. 
C. Stubbs. "A Handbook of Louisiana," by Major J. G. Lee, Baton 
Rouge, Louisiana, gives a summary of the rice industry. An inter- 
esting article on " The Rice Farming in the South." by D. A. AVilley, 
may be found in Review of Reviews for August, 1902. 



THE OYSTER INDUSTBY 



41 



The Oyster Industry 

The earliest white settlers in Louisiana found oysters 
growing on the reefs along the coast, and from the 
hrst settlement the oysters were gathered for local 
use. Gradually, as the people living up the bayous 
and rivers became acquainted with them, others living 




Fig. 21. 

Old Basin, New Orleans, showinsc a few of the many oyster hoats that l)rin,s? 
oysters to New Orleans from "the oyster beds in the bays and sounds along 
the coast. 

nearer the reefs began to gather and to sell oysters in 
small quantities to them. From this modest beginning 
the great oyster-fishing industry of Louisiana has devel- 
oped. At present the principal reefs are in the parishes 
of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Lafourche, and Terrebonne. 
West of the Atchafalaya river there is no oyster fishing, 



42 



LOUISIANA 



except around the Southwest Pass and Marsh Ishmd in 
Iberia parish. 

In 1904 it was estimated that there were 6,000,000 acres 
of water surface suited to the cultivation of oysters along 
the coast, or about one-fifth of the total area of the state. 
We do not mean that all this surface is now underlaid 
with oyster beds. In fact, the natural reefs cover only 
about 50,000 acres. 




Fig. 22. 

Oyster scraper. The windlass is placed on the deck of the skiff and by means 
of it the scraper is hauled on deck and emptied of its oysters. 

These natural reefs yielded in 1903 almost the entire 
oyster crop, consisting of 1,617,044 bushels. The arti- 
ficial beds are made on a bottom hard enough so that the 
oyster shells do not sink in and become covered by mud, 
by scattering old shells or some other clean material to 
which the young oysters may attach themselves. 

Oysters are fished either by hand tongs or by scrapers 
or dredges. The scraper is really nothing but f 'r^rden 



THE OYSTER mDUSTRY 



43 



rake with sharp teeth and a chain-net bag behind it (see 
Fig. 22). It scrapes the bottom and is pulled on deck 
once in a while and the oysters removed. 

Houma and Morgan City are largely engaged in the 
shipping of oysters outside of the state. Raw oysters, 




Fig. 23. 

Shucking shed, Avery Island. In this building the oysters are removed from 
the shells, or " shucked." They then go to the canning factory near by. 
The shells are taken out into the bay and dumped to form new oyster reefs 
where the bottom is by nature too soft and muddy for the oyster to live. 

removed from the shell, are called " shucked oysters," 
and are shipped by express daily during the season, from 
September 1 to May 1, to Texas, California, Utah, Colo- 
rado, and many Northern states. 



44 



LOUISIANA 




Fig. 24. 

Oyster-canning factory, Dunbar. In tliis room the tin cans are tilled with 
oy.sters and sealed. Oysters packed here are sold all over the United 
States. 

Canning factorie.s are also being- established. Some of 
the largest are at Rigolets, Dunbar, Hounia, Avery Island, 
and New Orleans (Fig. 24). There is no industry that 
[)romises more for a small investment than that of fishing 
oysters. 

Manufacturing 

Louisiana is an agricultural state, but it is growing 
rapidly in manufacturing and mechanical industries, and 
is destined to become a great manufacturing state. Why? 
What " raw materials " have we to use in the making of 
finished products? And what facilities have we for the de- 
velopment of trade in manufactured articles ? Louisiana 



MANUFA CTURING 



45 



produced in 1900 manufactures worth over 1121,000,000, 
and gave employment to over 74,250 wage-earners. 

If the total population is 1,381,625, what fraction of it 
is engage.d in manufacturing ? 

The principal industry is that of refining sugar and 
molasses, which gave employment in 1900 to 6504 wage- 



m 


ils^^ 


\_^ 


M 


^ 


»artB^^^^ 


: -'"«..,^- ■ 


^^^^^^SSk * fSS^yiBtm 


..^.■..-^....-■■"-^^ 


|Kf-^ ^'v^H 


■IPn 


r 




K^ 


J?" 


■;r5- 




'fl 


IHIRir -. "M:- 






VI 



Fig. 25. 
Lumber mills at Yellow Pine. 

earners and produced to the value of nearly fifty millions 
of dollars. There is a great waste in this industry be- 
cause the mills have nothing to do except during the 
grinding season, in October, November, and December. 
But a plan is now being devised to manufacture paper 
out of bagasse, the woody fibre of the sugar-cane that is 
left after grinding ; and if this plan succeeds, there will 



46 



LOUISIANA 



be plenty for the mills to ClO all the year, and a great gain 
in production will be accomplished. 

The second great manufacturing industry of Louisiana 
is that of lumber and timber products. In 1900 there 




From The American Lumhevman. 



Fig. 20. 
Bird's-eye view of the lumber yard at De Ridder. 

were 432 mills, emplojdng 10,171 wage-earners, and turn- 
ing out products worth f 17,408,531 — each of these num- 
bers being three times as great as the corresponding 
figures reported for 1890. And the report for 1910 may 
be three times as great as for 1900, for there are in the 
state thousands of square miles of untouched forests of 
pine, cypress, and hard woods. 

See map (Fig. 7) and name some of the parishes near 
your home in which lumber is an important resource. 
But what shall we do when these trees are all sawed up ? 
What ought to be done toward preserving the forests of 
a country, and why ? 



TRANSPORTATION ROUTES 49 

nus, and the boats lined the crescent-shaped shore in front 
of the city like locomotives in a round-house. The night 
scene from the levee in New Orleans during the seven- 
ties — that array of stately steamers with their lofty 
smoke-stacks bearing the red and green signal-lights, 
the puffing " 'scape pipes," the brilliantly lighted passen- 
ger cabins, the black roustabouts singing as they unload 
and roll the cotton bales ashore, and the Avhole picture 
reflected in the water — all this, a reality in those times. 




Fig. 28. 

Southwest Reef Light Station at the entrance to Atchafalaya Bay. This light 
can be seen in clear weather at a distance of twelve and three-quarters 
miles. During foggy weather a bell is struck every twenty seconds. On 
the coast of Louisiana there are a great many light-houses. 

seems now a dream. There are many steamboats still 
plying in all our navigable waters, and many steam- 
ships sailing from New Orleans to nearly all parts of 
the world ; but the old-time river transportation has given 
way and been supplanted in a great measure by the more 
rapid and cross-country transportation of railroads. 

Although there were a few short lines of railroad in the 
state before 1880, such as the one from New Orleans to 



50 



LOUISIANA 



Mobile, Alabama, and the one from Shreveport to Marshall, 
Texas, it was not until after that year that the opening 
up of the main railroad lines through the state was begun 
in earnest. Probably the reason for this was that confi- 
dence had been restored in the state government, which 
was now, for the first time since the Civil War, in posses- 
sion of the native white people of the state, and that a 
new and strong constitution had been adopted in 1879. 




Fig. 29. 

Uuiou Depot, Shreveport. 

There were in operation in Louisiana on June 30, 1904, 
3413 miles of railroad. The most central line of road 
and the one with the greatest mileage is the Texas and 
Pacific, 662 miles, traversing the state from southeast to 
northwest, from New Orleans to Shreveport and thence 
into Texas. The second line in mileage and the one 
making the greatest earnings is the Southern Pacific, 519 
miles, consisting of Morgan's Louisiana and Texas line 



TRANSPORTATION ROUTES 51 

from New Orleans to Lafayette ; the Louisiana Western 
from Lafayette through Lake Charles into Texas ; and the 
Alexandria Branch, from Lafayette to Alexandria. The 
third is the St. Louis, L-on Mountain, and Southern, 247 
miles, extending centrally through the northern half of 
the state, from Alexandria througli Monroe into Arkan- 
sas. Each of tlie following lines has a liundred miles or 
more of track in the state : — 

Road Miles 



1. Texas and Pacific .... 

2. Southern Pacific 

3. St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern 

4. Kansas City Southern 

5. Louisiana Railway and Navigation . 

6. Yicksburg, Shreveport, and Pacific . 

7. Yazoo and ^Mississippi Valley 

8. Xew Orleans and Xorthwestern 

9. Louisiana and Arkansas 



662 
519 
247 
245 
216 
171 
170 
115 
100 



There are, besides these, several important lines that 
have nearly a liundred miles in the state, as the Kansas 
City, Watkins, and Gulf, 98 miles, from Lake Charles to 
Alexandria ; and at least three very important lines, the 
Louisville and Nashville, the New Orleans and North- 
eastern, and the Illinois Central, which, though having 
small mileage in the state, are the great arteries of com- 
merce between New Orleans and all the big trade centres 
east of the Mississippi river. 

Trace all these lines of road on the map (Fig. 1). 
Which one is nearest to your home? Over what rail- 
ways would you travel in going to New Orleans ? 
Shreveport? Alexandria? Monroe? Baton Rouge? Lake 
Charles? To what large cities in other states does each 



52 



LOUISIANA 



line lead? Ask 3'our teacher to write the different rail- 
roads mentioned in the text for time-tables that will con- 
tain large maps showing all the cities in other states 
reached by their lines. 

Consult the latest report of the Louisiana Railroad Com- 
mission to find out the increase in mileage and earnings 
of railroads since 1904. 

There are 3771 miles of navigable streams in the state. 
Eleven of these have more than a hundred miles each, as 
follows : — 



Stream 








Miles 


Head of Xavigatiox 


1. Mississippi river .... 


585 


St. Paul, Minn. 


2. Red river 

3. Sabine bayou 

4. Lafourche bayou . 








510 
387 
318 


Shreveport 
Logansport 
Donaldsonville 


5. Atchafalava river . 








218 


Red River 


6. Ouachita river 








217 


Camden, Ark. 


7. Macon bayou . 








138 


Floyd 


8. Calcasieu river 








132 


Lake Charles 


9. Black river . 








136 


Ouachita River 


10. Tensas river . 








112 


Lake Providence 


11. Pearl river 








103 


Carthage, Miss. 



Trace each of these on the map (Fig. 1). What im- 
portant towns are located on each? What steamers navi- 
gate these streams ? Of what advantage to a railroad town 
is a navigable watercourse ? Are goods brought to your 
home over any of these rivers ? 

Examine the New Orleans daily papers to see what 
steamboats and steamships are advertised to sail to-day, 
and to what destinations. 



54 



LOUISIANA 



Cities and Towns 



The population of Louisiana, as given by the census 
of 1900, is 1,381,625. Of these 2H.5 per cent live in 
towns having at least 2500 inhabitants, while 73.5 per 
cent live in smaller towns and rural districts. Those 
municipal corporations which are given as having a popu- 
lation of 5000 or more are called cities, and of these 
there were seven reported in the year 1900, as follows 
(observe their growth since the census taken ten years 
before) : — 



Name 


Population in 1900 


Population in 1890 


New Orleans 


287,104 


242,039 


Shreveport 








16,013 


11,979 


Baton Rouge . 








11,269 


10,478 


New Iberia . 








6,815 


3,447 


Lake Charles . 








6,680 


3,442 


Alexandria 








5,648 


2,861 


Monroe . 








5,428 


3,256 



Which of these cities had the most rapid growth ? 
What will be the population of each city in 1910 if they 
continue to grow at the same rate of j^rogress as that 
shown above ? 

Those places having less than 5000 and more than 1000 
inhabitants are called towns. There were, in 1900, two 
towns having over 4000, five others having over 3000, 
and five others having over 2000 (see table on the opposite 
page). 

Perhaps most of these will have passed the 5000 mark 



CITIES AND TOWNS 



55 



and become cities in 1910. Make a list (from Appen- 
dix A) of the otlier towns in the state ; decide which 
of the towns you think will be the first to become 
cities. 



Names of Towxs 


Population in 1900 


Population in 1890 


Crowlev 


^214 


420 


Donaldsonville 








4,105 


3,121 


Plaquemme . 








3,590 


3,222 


Gretna . 








3,332 




Lafayette 








3,314 


2,106 


Thibodaiix . 








3,253 


2,078 


Houma . 








3,212 


1,280 


Opelousas 








2,951 


1,572 


Franklin 








2,692 


2,127 


^Natchitoches . 








2,388 


1,820 


Morgan City . 








2,332 


2,291 


Jackson . 








2,012 


1,276 



In studying a city or town pay particular attention to 
the following: Location, population, annual rate of in- 
crease, climate, health, natural resources, lines of trans- 
portation, chief industries, important business enterprises, 
public improvements, assessed value of property, schools, 
churches, institutions, and the general character of the 
people. Write a paragraph about the town in Avhich 
your home is situated. Wliat improvements liave been 
made there in the last year? in the last five years? 
What are some of those which are planned for in the 
near future? 

New Orleans, founded by Bienville, the French explorer, 
in 1718, is the largest city in the South. Its population 
of 287,104, as reported by the census of 1900, has now 



36 



LOUISIANA 



increased, according to the estimates of the New Orleans 
Progressive Union, to nearly 340,000, which would in- 
dicate a rate of increase twice as great during the past 
five years as that which was shown in the preceding ten 
years. By reason of its nearness to the Panama Canal 
it seems destined to become one of the most important 
commercial cities of the world ; for its location near the 
mouth of the Mississippi river will, when the canal is 




Fig. 31. 

Steamship loading cotton for export, New Orleans. 

finished, place it in a position to command the trade 
between all the country included in the valleys of the 
Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri rivers and all the great 
ports on the Avestern coast of South America, the 
Hawaiian and Philippine Islands, China, Japan, and 
Australia. It is a manufacturing city and the natural 
trade centre of the sugar, cotton, rice, and lumber sec- 
tions of the South. It is directly connected with all 



CITIES AND TOWNS 



57 




Fig. 32. 

Canal Street, New Orleans. This is the principal business street of the city. 
Notice how wide it is. 



parts of the United States by seven great trunk-lines of 
railroad. The exports from New Orleans in the year 1904 
were worth nearly 1150,000,000 and required 1505 ships 
carrying three and a half million tons. The national 
government has recently built in the harbor of New 
Orleans the largest floating dry dock in the world and is 
spending 13,500,000 in providing additional facilities at 
the mouth of the river, so that ships of 35 feet draught 
may easily enter. The health conditions of the city are 
excellent and compare favorably with those of all other 
large cities in the country. Tulane University is located 
here, witli its colleges of arts and sciences and of tech- 
nology and its schools of law and medicine (Fig. 34). 
The H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College for Young 
Women is also a department of the University (Fig. 35), 



58 



LOUISIANA 



with its school of Art that has now acquired a world- 
wide fame for its development of the artistic Newcomb 
Pottery. There are many other important private schools 
and colleges in the city, including four colleges for 
negroes. The system of public education had, in 1904, 
73 schools with 831 teachers and 24,000 pupils. The 
New Orleans Public Library and the Howard Memorial 



, '"V "., ..;, it* vutii 


HHHHH^^^n| 


'\"'---^ ^m 





Fig. 33. 

Lafayette Square, New Orleans. On the right you can see the City Hall, 
and in the centre the Henry Clay Statue. 

Library are two important factors in the educational life 
of the city. New Orleans has a mild temperature through- 
out the year, especially in those months when the rest of 
the country suffers from extreme cold, and it is therefore 
a great winter resort. Its unique composition of French, 
Spanish, and English elements in character, culture, man- 
ners, and social customs makes it one of the most interest- 
ing and entertaining cities in the world. This is strikingly 



CITIES AND TOWNS 



59 



illustrated to the tourist in the old French restaurants, the 
social festivities, the generous hospitality, and in many a 




Fig. 34. 
Academic building, Tulane University, New Orleans. 

touch of quaint architecture and Old World art, in such 
buildings, for example, as the Cabildo, the St. Louis Ca- 




FiG. 35. 
H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College for Women, New Orleans. 



60 LOUISIANA 

thedral, St. Roch Chapel, and in tlie cemeteries — and 
most of all in the gala annual celebration of Mardi Gras. 
Have you been to New Orleans ? If so, tell what you saw 
there. 

Shreveport, the second city in the state, is situated on 
the west bank of the Red river in Caddo parish, which 
forms the northwest corner of Louisiana. The census of 
1900 gave its population as 16,013, but a new enumera- 
tion made by local authorities two years later resulted in 
the announcement of 24,361 as the correct number. It is 
a rapidly growing city, the trade centre and distributing 
point for its entire section, and the third largest inland 
cotton market in the United States. It has the advan- 
tages of seven railroads and the Red river steamboat 
lines to bring in its freight and to carry out the large out- 
put of its manufacturing interests and its agricultural 
produce. It has fifty industrial enterprises with a pay- 
roll of 81,500,000 and an output of products worth more 
than §4,000,000. Some of these are : Flour mill, ice fac- 
tories, brick factories, cotton compresses, car shops, saddle 
and harness factories, syrup and molasses rehnery, blow- 
pipe and sheet-iron works, candy factories, cotton-oil mill, 
wagon factory, and a furniture factory. It has a complete 
and efficient system of public schools and one of the best 
high school buildings in the state. It is notably a city of 
beautiful and comfortable residences, of busy and success- 
ful commerce, and of a cultured and progressive citizen- 
ship. 

Baton Rouge, the third city in population, is the state 
capital. It is located on the east bank of the Mississippi 
on the first bluffs of that river above its mouth, 90 miles 
from New Orleans (by rail) and at an altitude of 35 



CITIES AND TOWNS 



61 



feet above the level of the Gulf. Its population in 1900 
was 11,260, which has now grown, according to the esti- 
mate of the Baton Rouge Progressive League (1905), to 
19,890. It has a temperate climate, pure artesian water, 
and good health. It is in a great cotton and sugar section 
and is a trade and shipping centre for both of those com- 




FiG. 36. 
Seventeen car loads of poplar logs being shipped from East Baton Rouge for 

export. 

modities. It has three railroads (what are they?) and 
the Mississippi river. Of what advantage is a river in the 
development of a city ? Baton Rouge ships nearly 35,000 
bales of cotton each year. It has two brickyards, two 
sawmills, an oar factory, a box factory, a veneer factory, 
a sugar refinery, a cotton-seed-oil mill, a cotton compress, 
four cotton-gins, an ice plant, and an iron foundry. It 



62 



LOUISIANA 



has a number of important public institutions with hand- 
some buildings, among which are the State Capitol (Fig. 
41), the Louisiana State University, the Institute for the 
Blind, the Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, and the public 
High School. The state penitentiary is located here, but 
under the present system the convicts are kept on the 
prison farms in other parts of the state. The State Uni- 
versity and Agricultural and Mechanical College occupies 
the beautiful and commodious buildings and grounds of 
the old United States Arsenal (Fig. 37), which have been 




Fig. 37. 

Group of buildings at the State University, Baton Rou.£:e. They once belonged 
to the United States government and were used for an arsenal. 

donated to the institution by Congress. The state and 
private benefactors have added liberally to the buildings, 
equipment, and grounds, and the institution is rapidly be- 
coming one of the greatest among southern colleges. The 
chief State Agricultural Experiment Station is located 
here, and its investigations and public bulletins, distrib- 
uted free, are an important factor in the agricultural 
development of the state. 

New Iberia ranks fourth among the cities of the state, 
naving a population of 6815 in 1900. It is located on 



MANUFACTURING 



47 



The third most important manufacturing industry is 
that of making cotton-seed oil and meal. This has grown 
wonderfully. In former times cotton-seed was thrown 
away as being of no value, but it has now been found that 
the seed formerly wasted in the ginning of a bale of cotton 
is worth one-eighth as much as the cotton itself. In 1900 
the cotton-seed-oil industry in the state employed 1317 
wage-earners and produced a value of one and one-half 
millions of dollars. 





\ 



Fig. 27. 

Rice mill at Crowley. In such mills the rice grains are polished, and packed 
in sacks to be shipped away and sold. 

Fourth in order is the work of polishing and cleaning 
rice. In 1900 the 412 wage-earners in this industry pro- 
duced a value of more than five and a half millions of 
dollars. But at that time many big mills were just 
beginning operation ; the industry is much greater now. 

And next in order come the making of cloth bags, 
foundry and machine-shop products, planing-mill prod- 
ucts, car construction, and railroad shop work. 



48 



LOUISIANA 



In what part of the state is most of the sugar manu- 
facturing done ? lumber ? long-leaf pine ? short-leaf pine ? 
cypress ? hard woods ? cotton-seed oil ? cleaning of rice ? 



Selected Manufactures in 1900 

Cloth bags 

Cars and shop construction by railroads 

Foundry and machine-shop products . 

Lumber and timber products 

Planing-mill products, including sashes, doors, and 

blinds 

Oil, cottoii-seed, and cake 

Rice, cleaning and polishing . 

Sugar and molasses, refining 

Printing and publishing 

Masonry, brick and stone (New Orleans) 

Malted liquors (New Orleans) 

Clothing (New Orleans) 



All other industries 
Total 1 



$3,443,468.00 
1,429,099.00 
2,672,761.00 

17,408,513.00 

1,573,481.00 
7,026,452.00 
5,736,451.00 
47,891,691.00 
2,020,708.00 
1,204,750.00 
1,472,062.00 
3,365,968.00 

95,245,404.00 
. 25,936,279.00 

$121,181,683.00 



Transportation Routes 

In the old days of stagecoaches and steamboats Louisi- 
ana was one of the most favored states in the country 
in transportation facilities. Having so many navigable 
waterways, including the great Mississippi river which 
passes through this state last on its way to the Gulf, it 
probably had more steamboats within its borders than any 
other state. New Orleans was the great steamboat termi- 

1 This total represents the gross value of the products turned out from 
all factories ; deducting the value of materials received in a partly manu- 
factured form, §51,411,310, we have the net value of manufactures for 
1000, $69,770,373. 



CITIES AND TOWNS bd 

Bayou Teche, one of the most picturesque and beautiful 
small streams of the country. It is 19 feet above sea- 
level and enjoys a temperate climate and good health. It 
is in a rich agricultural section in the heart of the sugar 
country. It has ample transportation facilities over the 
main line of the Southern Pacific Railroad and its branches 




Fig. 38. 

St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Thibodaux. One of the oldest churches in 
Louisiana. Notice the tombs at the right of the church. 

to the salt mines on Avery Island and to St. Martinville ', 
and, besides, the Teche is a navigable stream and yields 
New Iberia the usual advantages from water-route compe- 
tition with the railroad. The city has three large lumber 
mills, several sugar mills on near-by plantations, brick 
factory, cotton-seed-oil mill, rice mill, and iron foundries. 



64 LOUISIANA 

It has an electric-light and waterworks plant, a well- 
organized public school system, and many modern public 
improvements. The establishment of an electric inter- 
urban railway is contemplated along the line of sugar 
plantations in the thickly settled district between New 
Iberia and Morgan City. 

Lake Charles is situated in the southwestern corner of 
the state, as Shreveport is in the northwestern corner. It 
is built on the shore of a beautiful lake of the same name 
formed by an expansion of the Calcasieu river. It is 
the seat of justice of Calcasieu parish, the largest parish 
in the state, and had a population in 1900 of 6680, which 
was twice as great as the number given for 1890. A 
school census taken in 1902 showed an increase to 9875, 
and the estimates of the local Board of Trade for 1905 
would indicate about 15,000. The climate and health con- 
ditions are excellent. Tlie natural and available resources 
of the soil in Calcasieu parish and the adjacent parishes 
are exceptionally rich, consisting of sugar, cotton, rice, 
sulphur, salt, petroleum, pine, cypress, hard woods, and a 
great number of lesser products. The most important 
industry tributary to Lake Charles is that of lumber and 
timber products, the output reaching above 200,000,000 
feet per annum. The next in importance is rice, of which 
the area in cultivation in 1893 was only 10,000 acres as 
against 138,000 acres in 1903. Lake Charles has the 
largest rice mill in the United States. It has a fence fac- 
tory, iron foundry, machine shop, sugar refinery, brick- 
yard, lumber mills, sash, door, and blind factory, and car 
shops. Three trunk-lines of railway connect the city 
with all sections of the country on the north, east, and 
west, while there is in prospect the possibility of a deep 



CITIES AND TOWNS 



65 



water harbor at Cameron, at the mouth of the Calcasieu 
river, about thirty miles below Lake Charles. The 
United States government has spent several hundred 
thousand dollars in the construction of jetties and is con- 
tinuing that work with the view of securing this harbor. 
At the mouth of the river is located the Gulf Biological 
Station of the state, which through its investigations 
and bulletins is greatly developing the oyster and fishing 
industries along the coast. Lake Charles has a public 
library and a well-organized system of public schools. 




Fig. 39. 
Rapides parish court-house at Alexandria. 

Alexandria, on the west bank of the Red river in al- 
most the exact centre of Louisiana, is the parish seat of 
Rapides parish and is one of the most thriving and pro- 



66 LOUISIANA 

gressive cities in the state. Its population in 1900 was 
5648, a number which has probably been already doubled. 
It is a railroad centre, having lines radiating from it in 
not less than seven different directions, and is for that 
reason the most accessible place in the state. Red river 
is spanned at Alexandria by three heavy iron bridges, two 
railroad bridges and one for local traffic connecting the 
city Avith the town of Pineville. Alexandria is in a very 
rich agricultural section, the valley of lied river, which 
is famous for its remarkable production of cotton. Among 
the principal business enterprises are a cotton compress, 
two cotton-seed-oil mills, sawmill, planing-mills, iron 
foundry, coffee-roasting plant, brick factory, ice factory, 
feed mill, and canning factory. Alexandria is the seat 
of the new State Insane Asylum. It has one of the finest 
court-houses in the state, costing 1100,000, a modern high 
school building, and a handsome United States govern- 
ment building. 

Monroe, the seventh city in the state in population in 
1900, has advanced to a higher rank than that by this 
time, if the local authorities there were correct in their 
census taken in August, 1904, reporting a population of 
16,208. It is located on the Ouachita river in the north 
central portion of the state. It has three railroads, be- 
sides the benefit of river navigation. It is in a fertile 
agricultural section and also has many important com- 
mercial and industrial enterprises, among which are two 
cotton-seed-oil mills, one cotton mill, the beginning of 
what is destined to prove one of the largest manufac- 
turing interests of the state, two cotton compresses, rail- 
road shops, ice factories, sawmills, and an electric light 
and power plant. Its assessed value in the year 1903 was 



GOVERNMENT 



67 



$2,651,920 ; in 1904, $3,213,840. Monroe has an efficient 
system of schools maintained entirely by city appropria- 




FiG. 40. 

City high school building, Monroe. This school is supported entirely by city 
taxes and is the only public school in Louisiana entirely independent of 
state control. 

tion and independent of the state system, with one of the 
finest high school buildings in the state. The parish 
high school is also located there. 

Government 

The capital city of Louisiana is Baton Rouge. There 
in the capitol building, or State House (Fig. 41), the laws 
are made by our Representatives and Senators. The 
Governor of the state and the various executive state offi- 
cers, such as the Secretary of State, the Treasurer, the 



68 



LOUISIANA 



Auditor, the Commissioner of Agriculture, and the State 
Superintendent of Education, have their offices there. 

The state government consists of three departments : 
the legishitive, the judicial, and the executive. The legis- 
lative department makes the laws, the judicial department 
interprets and explains the laws, and the executive de- 
partment sees to it that the laws are enforced and obeyed. 




Fig. 41. 
State Capitol, Baton Kouge. 

The legislature is composed of two bodies, the House 
of Representatives and the Senate, and meets once every 
two years, remaining in session sixty days. When will 
it meet next? There are 41 Senators and 114 Repre- 
sentatives elected by the people. Who are the Senators 
from your district ? Who are the Representatives from 
your parish ? In times of need the Governor may call 



GOVERNMENT 69 

the legislature to meet in special session and if necessary 
such sessions can continue for thirty days. 

The judicial department of the government is composed 
of the Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeal, the District 
Courts, and the Courts of Justices of tlie Peace. There 
are in the Supreme Court five Justices, elected by the 
people. The Courts of Appeal are composed of District 
Judges. There must be not less than twenty nor more 
than twenty-nine District Judges elected in the state by 
the people of the several Judicial Districts. What 
parishes are in your District ? Who is your Judge ? 
The Justices of the Peace are elected by the people of 
the wards in which they serve. A ward is a portion of 
a parish. What ward do you live in ? Who is Justice 
of the Peace for that ward ? 

The executive power of the state is in the hands of the 
Governor and of the various state officers serving under 
him and forming what is called his administration. 

The fifty-nine parishes of the state (similar to counties 
in other states), and the incorporated cities and towns, 
have separate governments of their own ; but these 
smaller governments are under the control of the state 
government, and in turn the state government forms a 
part of the larger national government. Louisiana has 
two Senators in the United States Senate and seven Rep- 
resentatives in the House of Representatives, one elected 
from each congressional district. In what congressional 
district do you live? (See Appendix B.) Who are our 
Senators in Congress? Who is your Representative 
there ? 



70 



LOUISIANA 



History 

The land now called Louisiana is a part of the country 
that LaSalle, the French explorer, took possession of for 
France in the year 1682. He named it Louisiana in honor 
of the French king, Louis XIV. Its first settlements 
were made by French colonists. In 1762, however, it was 




Fig. 42. 

The Cabildo, New Orleans. It was here, on December 20, 1803, that Louisiana 
Territory was transferred by the French to General Wilkinson and Gov- 
ernor Claiborne, the United States commissioners. It is now used by the 
Supreme Court. 

ceded by France to Spain, whose officials took possession 
of it in 1769. In 1800 it was ceded back to France, and 
in 1803 was sold to the United States — the greatest ter- 
ritorial purchase and sale ever made in the history of the 
world. On December 20, 1803, in the old Cabildo at New 
Orleans, the keys of the city were delivered to the repre- 



HISTORY 71 

sentatives of the United States Government by the French 
commissioners, in the presence of a large assemblage of 
people, which indicated the formal transfer of the Loui- 
siana Territory (Fig» 42). Have you ever visited the 
Cabildo ? If not, do so the next time you go to New 
Orleans. What was the area of the Louisiana Territory ? 

That part of the Louisiana Territory which was after- 
ward to become the state of Louisiana was marked off 
from the rest of it in 1804, and organized into The Terri- 
tory of Orleans; and on April 8, 1812, it was admitted 
into the Union as a state. \V. C. C. Claiborne was the 
first Governor. 

Louisiana became a famous battle ground in the history 
of the country through Jackson's splendid victory over 
the British in the battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815 ; 
and again for the stuVjborn resistance offered the Fed- 
eral forces in the war between the states. She seceded 
from the Union, January 26, 1861, and joined in forming 
the government of the Confederate States of America at 
Montgomery, Alabama, February 9, 1861. This govern- 
ment fell in the great Civil War, and Louisiana was re- 
admitted to the Union in July, 1868, after Congress had 
approved the state constitution adopted in March of that 
year. 

Louisiana bore a brave and honorable part in that war, 
and when it was ended, set herself patiently and coura- 
geously about the task of rebuilding her fallen fortunes 
and adapting herself to the new conditions — and she has 
labored with great success and prosperity. In what ways 
is Louisiana prosperous? What damage was done in the 
state by the war? In what ways have some of those 
damages been repaired? After the troublous times of 



72 



LOUISIANA 



reconstruction a new constitution was adopted in 1879 
under which the state grew stronger. And in 1898 a 
still better constitution was adopted, opening the Avay 
for many improvements and reforms in our institutions 
and the public service. What are some of the important 
changes that have come to us as a result of provisions of 
the constitution of 1898? 



Education 

The state educational institutions of Louisiana are as 
follows : — 

The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and 
Mechanical College, at Baton Rouge. 




Fig. 43. 
Main building, Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute, Lafayette. 

The Louisiana State Normal School, at Natchitoches. 
The Louisiana Industrial Institute, at Ruston, 



EDUCATION 



73 




Fig. 44. 
Main building, Louisiana Industrial Institute, Ruston, 

The Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute, at 
Lafayette. 

The Institution for the Blind, at Baton Rouge. 

The Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, at Baton Rouge. 

The State System of Public Schools. 

The Teachers' Institutes and Summer Normal Schools. 

The Southern University and Agricultural and Mechan- 
ical College, for Negroes, at New Orleans. 

Some of the most important private and sectarian edu- 
cational institutions in Louisiana are the following : — 

Tulane University of Louisiana, including Newcomb 
College, New Orleans. 



74 LOUISIANA 

Isidore Newman Manual Training School, New Orleans. 

Centenary College (Methodist), Jackson. 

Jefferson College (Catholic), Convent. 

Jesuits' College (Catholic), New Orleans. 

Mt. Lebanon College (Baptist), Mt. Lebanon. 

Silliman Collegiate Institute (Presbyterian), Clinton. 

Louisiana Female College (Baptist), Keatchie. 

Mansfield Female College (Methodist), Mansfield. 

Holy Cross College (Catholic), New Orleans. 

Home Institute, New Orleans. 

Ursuline Academy (Catholic), New Orleans. 

And there are many other institutions of this class, both 
large and small, throughout the state ; in particular, those 
conducted by the various Catholic orders, such as the 
Jesuits, Sisters of the Sacred Heart, Mt. Carmel, Notre 
Dame, the Dominicans, and others. And there are, be- 
sides, many excellent academies or college preparatory 
schools, such as Rugby Academy, P^errell's School, and the 
University School in New Orleans, and Dixon Academy 
in Covington ; and business or commercial colleges such 
as Soule's, Spencer's, and others, in New Orleans. There 
is a number of higher sectarian schools for negroes, such 
as Straight University (Congregational), Leland Uni- 
versity (Baptist), and New Orleans University (Metho- 
dist), all in New^ Orleans ; and several noteworthy efforts 
are being made in industrial training for negroes, as at 
Gilbert Academy, Baldwin. 

Probably greater progress is now being made in the 
state system of public education in Louisiana than in any 
other branch of the public service. During the school 
year of 1904-1905 there was expended in support of the 
public schools of the state $2,207,855. Of this amount 



EDUCATION 



75 



the state gave fl, 821, 855, an increase of 1265,000 over the 
amount appropriated in the preceding year ; and the bal- 
ance, §386,000, was raised by local taxation. New school- 
houses were erected costing ^^150,000. The average salary 
of white teachers, including 
city principals, was §46.70 
per month ; of colored teach- 
ers, §28. The average length 
of the school term for white 
schools was Q.S months ; for 
colored schools, 5.3 months. 
The number of white teach- 
ers employed was 3759; 
colored teachers, 1020. The 
number of public schools 
taught in the state was 
nearly 4000, enrolling 208,- 
000 pupils; private schools, 
about 800, enrolling 30,000 
pupils. The number of rec- 
ognized public high schools 
was 37. The number of 
children in the state of 
school age was 459,000. 

The educational outlook 
is in all respects brighter 
than ever before in the his- 
tory of the state. Not- 
withstanding an apparent 
backwardness by reason of 
Louisiana is really somewhat in advance of her sister 
states in general educational effort and progress. The 




Fig. 45. 

State Normal School, Natchitoches. 
The upper picture shows the old 
buildiug; the lower, the new one. 

the statistics on illiteracy, 



76 LOUISIANA • 

presence of illiteracy can be easily explained, honorably 
accounted for, quickly eradicated — and, in fact, it is 
rapidly disappearing. The record of illiteracy will be 
greatly reduced at the next census, and in the one fol- 
lowing will have practically disappeared. It will then be 
observed that Louisiana's educational condition, which had 
been previously obscured by this supposed shadow of illit- 
eracy, had been, in fact, making preeminent progress all 
along, and even distancing many other states that had 
never suffered from adverse statistics. 



APPENDIX A 

POPULATION OF INCORPORATED CITIES, TOWNS, AND VIL- 
LAGES IN LOUISIANA, AND THE PARISHES IN WHICH 
THEY ARE SITUATED RESPECTIVELY, 1900 

(1) Incorporated Cities ^ 



City 


Population, 1900 


Parish 


New Orleans 


. 287,104 


Orleans 


Shreveport 


. 16,103 


Caddo 


Baton Rouge 


. 11,269 


East Baton Roug( 


New Iberia 


6,815 


Iberia 


Lake Cliarles 


6,680 


Calcasieu 


Alexandria 


5,648 


Rapides 


Monroe 


5,428 


Ouachita 



(2) Towns and Villages 



Town or Village 


Population, 1900 


Abbeville 2 


1,536 


Alden Bridge 


50 


Amite 


1,547 


Arcadia . 


1,157 


Arnaudville 


327 


Athens 


154 


Bastrop 


787 


Bayou Sara . 


755 


Benton 


463 


Bern ice 


250 


Berwick 


713 


Bienville 


263 


Bonita 


100 


Boyce . . . . 


832 


Breaux Bridge . 


654 


Broussard . 


290 



Parish 

Vermilion 

Bossier 

Tangipahoa 

Bienville 

St. Landry 

Claiborne 

Morehouse 

West Feliciana 

Bossier 

Union 

St. Mary 

Bienville 

Morehouse 

Rapides 

St. Martin 

Lafayette 

1 By Act 136 of the General Assembly of 1898 Municipal Corporations 
are divided into three classes, viz., cities, towns, villages; those having 
5000 or more are cities ; those having more than 1000 and less than 5000 
are towns ; those having more than 250 and less than 1000 are villages. 

2 Names of towns printed in capital letters are seats of justice. 

77 



78 



APPENDIX A 



Town or Village 






Population, 1900 


Parish 


Bunkie .... 873 . . 


Avoyelles 


Oampti 






310 


Natchitoches 


Carencro 






445 


Lafayette 


Church Point 






278 


Acadia 


Clinton 






960 


East Feliciana 


Colfax 






190 


Grant 


CoUinston . 






150 


Morehouse 


Columbia . 






382 


Caldwell 


Cottonport . 






502 


Avoyelles 


COUSHATTA 






600 


Red River 


Covington 






1,205 


St. Tammany 


Crowley . 






4,214 


Acadia 


Delhi . 






620 


Richland 


Delta . 






320 


Madison 


Denham Springs 






110 


Livingston 


De Quincev 






66 


Calcasieu 


De Kidder" . 






350 


Calcasieu 


Donaldsonvilli 


: 




4,319 


Ascension 


Dubach 






150 


Lincoln 


Erath . 






215 


Iberia 


Estherwood 






103 


Acadia 


Eunice 






316 


St. Landry 


Evergreen . 






322 


Avoyelles 


Farmerville 






458 


Union 


Floyd 






176 


West Carroll 


Franklin . 






2,692 


St. Mary 


Franklinton 






236 


Washington 


Gibsland 






558 


Bienville 


Grand Cane 






385 


De Soto 


Grand Cote an 






521 


St. Landry 


Greensburg 






315 


St. Helena 


Gretna 






3,332 


Jefferson 


Gueydan 






376 


Vermilion 


Hahnville 






447 


St. Charles 


Hammond . 






1,511 


Tangipahoa 


Harrisonburg 






303 


Catahoula 


Haughton . 






194 


Bossier 


Haynesville 






200 


Claiborne 


Homer 






1,157 


Claiborne 


Horn beck . 






225 


Vernon 


HOUMA 






3,212 


Terrebonne 


Iota . 






65 


Acadia 


Jackson 






2,012 


East Feliciana 


Jeanerette . 






1,905 


Iberia 


Jennings 






1,539 


Calcasieu 


Jonesville . 






172 


Catahoula 



APPENDIX A 


79 


Town or Village 


Population, 1900 


Parish 


Junction City 


389 


Union 


Kenner 


1,253 


Jefferson 


Kent wood . 


1,313 


Tangipahoa 


Lafayette 


3,314 


Lafayette 


Lake Arthur 


200 


Calcasieu 


Lake Providence 


1,256 


East Carroll 


Lecompte . 


375 


Rapides 


Leesville . 


1,148 


Vernon 


Lockport 


401 


Lafourche 


Logansport « 


688 


De Soto 


Madisonville 


779 


St. Tammany 


Mandeville . 


1,029 


St. Tammany 


Mansfield 


847 


De Soto 


]\Iansura 


408 


Avoyelles 


Many .... 


345 


Sabine 


Marks ville 


837 


Avoyelles 


Marthaville 


228 


Natchitoches 


Melville . 


517 


St. Landry 


^lermentau 


175 


Acadia 


Mer Rouge . 


465 


Morehouse 


MiNDEN 


1,561 


AVebster 


]\I outgo mery 


158 


Grant 


]\Ioreauville 


200 


Avovelles 


^lorgan City 


2,332 


St. Mary 


Xapoleonville 


945 


Assumption 


Natchitoches . 


2,388 


Natchitoches 


Kew Roads 


700 


Pointe Coupee 


Oak Ridge . 


348 


Morehouse 


Oberlin 


213 


Calcasieu 


Olla 


166 


Catahoula 


Opelousas .... 


2,951 


St. Landry 


Pineville .... 


617 


Rapides 


Plain Dealing 


258 


Bossier 


Plaquemine 


3,590 


Iberville 


Pleasant Hill 


300 


Sabine 


Pollock .... 


637 


Grant 


Ponchatoula 


711 


Tangijiahoa 


Port Allen 


250 


West Baton Rouge 


Provencal . 


246 


Natchitoches 


Quitman .... 


15 


Jackson 


Rayue 


1,007 


Acadia 


Rayville .... 


475 


Richland 


Robeline .... 


464 


Natchitoches 


Roseland 


1,320 


Tangipahoa 


Rosepine .... 


75 


\V mn 


RUSTON .... 


1,324 


Lincoln 



80 



APPENDIX B 



Town or Village 






Population, 1900 


Parish 


St. Francisville . . 1,059 


West Feliciana 


St. Joseph . 




717 


Tensas 


St. Martinville 




1,926 


St. Martin 


Slaughter . 






259 


East Feliciana 


Slidell 






1,129 


St. Tammany 


Tallulah . 






225 


Madison 


Tangipahoa 






297 


Tangipahoa 


Thibodaux 






3,253 


Lafourche 


Tioga . 






250 


Rapides 


Vernon 






175 


Jackson 


Vidalia 






1,022 


Concordia 


Ville Platte 






163 


St. Landry 


Vivian 






— 


Caddo 


Washington 






197 


St. Landry 


Waterproof . 






298 


Tensas 


Welsh 






320 


Calcasieu 


West Monroe 






775 


Ouachita 


White Castle . 






1,850 


Iberville 


Wilson 






470 


East Feliciana 


WiNNFIELD 






133 


Winn 


WiNNSBORO 






300 


Franklin 


Youngsville 






200 


Lafayette 


Zachary 






465 


East Baton Rouge 


Zwolle 






276 


Sabine 



APPENDIX B 



Parish 

Acadia . 

Ascension 

Assumi:)tion 

Avoyelles 

Bienville 

Bossier . 

Caddo 

Calcasieu 

Caldwell 

Cameron 

Catahoula 

Claiborne 

Concordia 

De Soto . 







Area 


Congressional 




S(|uare 


District 


Incorporated 


Miles 


Seventh 


1866 


616 


Sixth 


1807 


373 


Third 


1807 


355 


Seventh 


1807 


843 


Fourth 


1848 


856 


Fourth 


1843 


773 


Fourth 


1838 


852 


Seventh 


1843 


3,268 


Fifth 


1838 


544 


Seventh 


1870 


1,560 


Fifth 


l&OS 


1,350 


Fifth 


1828 


778 


Fifth 


1807 


665 


Fourth 


1853 


856 



APPENDIX B 



Parish 

East Baton Roug( 

East Carroll . 

East Feliciana 

Franklin 

Grant 

Iberia 

Iberville 

Jackson . 

Jefferson 

Lafayette 

Lafourche 

Lincoln . 

Livingston 

Madison 

Morehouse 

Natchitoches 

Orleans . 

Ouachita 

Plaquemines 

Pointe Coupee 

Rapides . 

Red River 

Richland 

Sabine . 

St. Bernard 

St. Charles 

St. Helena 

St. James 

St. John . 

St. Landry 

St. Martin 

St. Mary 

St. Tammany 

Tangipahoa 

Tensas . 

Terrebonne 

Union 

Vermilion 

Yernon . 

Washington 

Webster 

West Baton Rouge 

West Carroll 

West Feliciana 

Winn 



Congressional 




District 


Incorporated 


Sixth 


1807 


Fifth 


1877 


Sixth 


1811 


Fifth 


1843 


Seventh 


-1869 


Third 


1868 


Sixth 


1807 


Fifth 


1845 


Second 


1825 


Third 


1825 


Third 


1807 


Fifth 


1873 


Sixth 


1832 


Fifth 


1839 


Fifth 


1844 


Fourth 


1807 


Second 


1805 


Fifth 


1807 


First 


1807 


Sixth 


1807 


Seventh 


1807 


Fourth 


1871 


Fifth 


1868 


Fourth 


1903 


First 


1807 


Second 


1807 


Sixth 


1811 


Second 


1807 


Second 


1807 


Seventh 


1807 


Third 


1811 


Third 


1811 


Sixth 


1811 


SLxth 


1869 


Fifth 


1842 


Third 


1822 


Fifth 


1839 


Third 


1844 


Seventh 


1871 


Sixth 


1819 


Fourth 


1871 


Sixth 


1807 


Fifth 


1877 


Sixth 


1811 


Fourth 


1852 



82 



APPENDIX B 





Population. 1900 
















Taxable Prop- 


Seat of Justice 










EKTY (1903) 




White 


. Colored 


Indian 


Total 1 






18,662 


4,820 





23,483 


$6,508,341 


Crowley 


12,048 


12,081 


2 


24,142 


2,888,381 


Donaldsonville 


12,181 


9,438 





21,620 


2,799,740 


Napoleonville 


17,762 


11,891 


47 


29,701 


2,8i3,900 


Marksville 


9,348 


8,240 





17,588 


2,840,270 


Arcadia 


5,262 


18,890 


1 


24,153 


2,170,420 


Benton 


13,826 


30,662 


1 


44,499 


10,555,960 


Shreveport 


24,267 


5,966 


191 


30,428 


16,035,355 


Lake Charles 


3,841 


3,076 





6,917 


1,269,395 


Columbia 


3,375 


577 





3,952 


1,302,210 


Cameron 


9,518 


6,793 


40 


16,351 


3,179,523 


Harrisonburg 


9,202 


13,827 





23,029 


2,013,953 


Homer 


1,714 


11,845 





13,559 


1,326,644 


Vidalia 


8,160 


16,903 





25,063 


2,687,000 


Mansfield 


10,562 


20,578 





31,153 


5,771,720 


Baton Ronge 


959 


10,412 





11,373 


1,701,995 


Lake Providence 


5,570 


14,871 





20,443 


2,033,625 


Clinton 


3,870 


5,020 





8,890 


1,183,471 


Winnsboro 


9,237 


3,665 





12,902 


2,203,530 


Colfax 


14,729 


14,282 





29,015 


5,009,671 


New Iberia 


9,842 


17,159 





27,006 


3,223,225 


Plaque mine 


5,915 


3,204 





9,119 


1,273,132 


Vernon 


8,979 


6,279 





15,321 


4,758,886 


Gretna 


13,309 


9,516 





22,825 


3,281,051 


Lafayette 


20,626 


8,184 


65 


28,882 


2,770,265 


Thibodaux 


9,139 


6,759 





15,898 


2,027,395 


Ruston 


6,956 


1,144 





8,100 


1,276,381 


Springville 


899 


11,422 





12,322 


1,757,160 


Tallulah 


3,911 


12,722 


1 


16,634 


2,543,540 


Bastrop 


13,662 


19,544 


2 


33,216 


4,732,600 


Natchitoches 


208,946 


77,714 


2 


287,104 


157,748,764 


New Orleans 


7,847 


13,098 





20,947 


5,169,755 


Monroe 


5,762 


7,276 





13,039 


2,009,816 


Pointe-a-la-Hache 


6,601 


19,174 





25,777 


1,928,342 


New Roads 


18,320 


21,210 


41 


39,578 


5,546,320 


Alexandria 


4,077 


7,471 





11,548 


1,276,351 


Coushatta 



1 The difference between the figures showing the total population 
and the sum of the white, colored, and Indian represents Chinese and 
Japanese. 



APPENDIX B 



83 





Population, 1900 
















Taxable Prop- 


Seat of Justice 










::kty (1903) 


White 


Colored 


Indian 


Total 






3,222 


7,892 





11,116 


1,687,288 


Rayville 


12,418 


3,002 


1 


15,421 


2,306,040 


Many 


2,832 


2,197 





5,031 


1,104,317 


Arabi 


2,970 


6,102 





9,072 


1,950,289 


Hahnville 


3,896 


4,583 





8,479 


904,145 


Greensbiirg 


8,839 


11,356 





20,197 


2,389,603 


Convent 


5,145 


7,184 





12,330 


1,857,451 


Edgard 


26,170 


26,658 


77 


52,906 


6,151,620 


Opelousas 


10,057 


8,883 





18,940 


2,430,370 


St. Martinvills 


13,789 


20,264 


83 


34,145 


6,026,842 


Franklin 


8,415 


4,889 


30 


13,335 


2,735,855 


Covington 


12,248 


5,375 


o 


17,625 


3,754,290 


Amite City 


1,231 


17.839 





19,070 


1,678,420 


St. Joseph 


14,142 


10.312 





24,464 


3,193,406 


Houma 


11,553 


6,967 





18,520 


2,023,660 


Farmervilie 


16,957 


3,747 





20,705 


3,930,371 


Abbeville 


9,048 


1,279 





10.327 


4,277,597 


Leesville 


6,846 


2,776 


6 


9,628 


1,739,083 


P'ranklinton 


6,863 


8,262 





15,125 


2,124.949 


Minden 


2,351 


7,934 





10,285 


1,344,480 


Port Allen 


1,556 


2,128 


1 


3,685 


669,235 


Floyd 


2,213 


13,781 





15,944 


1,406,757 


St. Francisville 


7,967 


1,681 





9,648 


2,763,192 


Winnfield 



HRST BOOK OF 

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 

By RALPH S. TARR, 

Professor of Dynamic Geology and Physical Geography 
at Cornell University. 

i2nio. Illustrated. Half leather. $i.io, net. 



**The style is simple, direct, and the illustrations helpful; the book, 
indeed, being so attractive that one hopes it will inspire even in the 
pupil who gives it briefest time a longing to know more of the marvels 
of our world." — Providence Journal. 

" Although intended for school use, there are few readers who will 
not be profoundly interested in the volume, which is profusely illus- 
trated. Technical terms are avoided as far as possible, and where they 
are used they are clearly explained." — Boston Transcript. 

" This book is packed with information needed by every grammar- 
school pupil; but what signifies vastly more, the pupil gets this infor- 
mation in a way that gives thorough discipline — in observation, careful 
reading, discriminating thinking. This book is the best possible proof 
of the statement that all new science work depends for its value upon 
being rightly taught. This book is an admirable presentation of prac- 
tical pedagogy." — Journal oj Education. 

"The style of Professor Tarr's book is literary, scholarly, and sane; 
a pleasing relief from the disjointed paragraphs of some of his con- 
temporaries. . . . This book will prove a formidable rival to the best 
physical geographies now in the field." — Educational Review. 

** No written description of the book can do justice to it. It will well 
repay personal examination." — New York Education. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

66 FIFTH AVENUE. NEVT YORK. 



UG 21 1905 

ECONOMIC GEOLOGY 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES, 

WITH BRIEFER MENTION OF FOREIGN MINERAL PRODUCTS. 

By RALPH S. TARR, B.S., F.G.S.A., 

Assistant Professor of Geology at Cornell University. 

Second Edition. Revised. $3.50* 



COMMENTS, 

** I am more than pleased with your new * Economic Geology of the United 

States.' An introduction to this subject, fully abreast of its recent progress, and 
especially adapted to American students and readers, has been a desideratum. The 
book is admirably suited for class use, and I shall adopt it as the text-book for instruc- 
tion in Economic Geology in Colorado College. It is essentially accurate, while 
written in a pleasant and popular style, and is one of the few books on practical 
geology that the general public is sure to pronounce readable. The large share of 
attention given to non-metallic resources is an especially valuable feature." — Francis 
W. Cragin, Professor of Geology, Mineralogy, and Paleoniology at Colorado 
College. 

" I have examined Professor R. S. Tarr's ' Economic Geology ' with much 
pleasure. It fills a felt want. It will be found not only very helpful to students and 
teachers by furnishing the fundamental facts of the science, but it places within easy 
reach of the business man, the capitalist, and the statesman, fresh, reliable, and com- 
plete statistics of our national resources. The numerous tables bringing out in an 
analytic way the comparative resources and productiveness of our country and of 
different states, are a specially convenient and admirable feature. The work is ?n 
interesting demonstration of the great public importance of the science of geology." 
— James E. Todd, State Geologist, South Dakota. 

*' It is one of those books that is valuable for what it omits, and for the concise 
method of presenting its data. The American engineer has now the ability to acquire 
the latest knowledge of the theories, locations, and statistics of the leading American 
ore bodies at a glance. Were my course one of text-books, I should certainly use it, 
and I have already called the attention of my students to its value as a book of 
reference." — Edward H. Williams, Professor of Mining, Engineering, and 
Geology at Lehigh University. 

"I have taken time for a careful examination of the work; and it gives me 
pleasure to say that it is very satisfactory. Regarded simply as a general treatise 
on Economic Geology, it is a distinct advance on anything that we had before; while 
in its relations to the Economic deposits of this country it is almost a new creation 
and certainly supplies a want long and keenly felt by both teachers and general 
students. Its appearance was most timely in my case, and my class in Economic 
Geology are already using it as a text-book." — William O. Crosby, Assistant 
Professor of Structural and Economic Geology at the Massachusetts Institute oj 
Technology. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, 

66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK. 



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